Big cities across the U.S. increasingly sacrifice public safety for political correctness, catering to left-leaning critics by hamstringing law enforcement. In Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Seattle, progressive leaders condone rampant homelessness and public drug use, despite residents' objections. Austin, among the fastest-growing cities, defies these trends. Its police chief, Brian Manley, presides over the nation's third-safest major-metro area, demonstrating that being “woke” doesn't require indifference to crime.
Manley's accomplishments have occurred under an increasingly progressive city government. He oversees a relatively small police force: about 1,900 sworn officers serve a population of approximately 1 million. Nevertheless, Austin is safer than Houston and San Antonio, which have experienced higher rates of violent crime and property crime. Named one of the “World's Greatest Leaders” by Fortune, Manley stands out in an era of national searches for demographically correct police chiefs—he's a native Austinite who rose through the ranks.
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