Violence... an “Artificial Construction"?
By Nicole Kiprilov and Britt Allen
When New York City lawmaker Zohran Mamdani says that “violence is an artificial construction,” it might sound like a fringe academic theory, or another radical trope. But when we remember this is the same man who has championed the “defund the police” movement as a fundamental part of his policy platform, it becomes pretty clear that this isn’t merely a quirky and trendy intellectual musing. It’s a dangerous worldview that is influencing policy in this country’s largest city.
But this piece is about something so much bigger than just one comment. It’s about a broader mindset that has taken root in cities across the country and that treats crime as something to be redefined rather than confronted. So here’s the real question: in a city facing actual violent crime, how do we ensure public policy stays grounded in public safety and not in ideological rhetoric?
The Shift
I was born on Long Island in 1996, during the time of “America’s Mayor” - the great Rudy Giuliani. While I don’t remember every single thing about New York City when I was very young, I have glimpses of my family driving into the city every weekend. The streets were safe and clean. The “Americana” culture was palpable. I remember the sense of calm when police were visible, proactive, and supported. There was this unspoken understanding that someone was keeping the streets in check. That presence was very stabilizing. I also notice that every time my parents now talk about how New York City “used to be,” they have tears in their eyes. They miss it.
Several years ago, I was at an event for an elected official in Queens and one of the guest speakers was Rudy Giuliani. I remember that his speech went egregiously overtime, and it was because he had started talking about New York when he was mayor, and it was as if he went into a daze. I was sitting in the audience and I could feel the Mayor re-living his love story with the city, a melancholy and deep nostalgia dripping from every single word that came out of his mouth. While he didn’t say this, I could tell that he didn’t really believe the city would ever get back to what it used to be. The shift was too great.
When slogans like “defund the police” took hold and political leaders started treating law enforcement like the problem instead of part of the solution, everything changed. Streets felt less safe. Subway platforms felt more volatile. Crime became more random, more brazen, and certainly more ignored. The reality of crime isn’t abstract. It’s the woman afraid to walk alone at night. It’s the elderly man pushed onto the tracks. It’s the parent begging the Mayor for more police presence near the playground. These are not “constructions.” They are lived experiences, and the communities most affected are often the ones with the least power to make a difference. Consider this: the New York Police Department reported a 45% increase in major crimes citywide from 2021 to 2022. Transit crime jumped by over 50% during that same window. In 2023, felony assaults reached a 27-year high. These aren’t just statistics. There are faces and stories behind every single number. Under-policing doesn’t produce safety. Under-policing produces silence, fear, and retreat. And the people hurt most aren’t the politicians with security details - they’re the working-class families who can’t afford to move.
What Happens When You “Defund” and “Redefine”
Let’s be clear: calls for reform, transparency, and accountability in policing are necessary. But stripping resources from police departments is not reform. It’s neglect. Cities that moved to cut law enforcement budgets after 2020 experienced the devastating effects of this. In Minneapolis, murders rose 72% between 2019 and 2021 after the City Council pledged to dismantle the police department. In Portland, which slashed its police budget by $15 million in 2020, homicides hit a 26-year high the following year. In New York City, the City Council voted to cut nearly $1 billion from the New York Police Department in 2020, and right after, subway assaults spiked by more than 100% in the following year. Meanwhile, clearance rates plummeted. In 2022, fewer than half of homicides in major American cities were solved. Criminals know the odds of getting caught are lower, and so they act accordingly. This is because safety deteriorates when law enforcement is sidelined. Once it’s lost, trust is hard to regain. Even the best intentions collapse when the response to real violence is less presence, less deterrence, and just more bureaucracy.
Language Matters, Especially When Lives Are on the Line
We talk a lot about “narratives” these days. But in the real world, language shapes outcomes. When leaders minimize violent crime or use academic jargon to explain away brutality, it sends a very clear message: your fear doesn’t count, and your pain isn’t real. Calling violence an “artificial construction” might sound profound in a faculty lounge. But on the streets of Queens or the Bronx - streets I know very well - it sounds like abandonment. Words have power and when elected officials choose to soften, reframe, or outright dismiss crime, they erode public trust. It becomes harder to build coalitions around solutions when people feel their experiences are being invalidated or dismissed. The public doesn’t buy it either. A January 2025 Manhattan Institute poll found that 70% of NYC voters favor adding more police officers. That’s not a partisan view. It’s a cry for help from people who live with the consequences of rising crime every single day.
What Real Public Safety Looks Like
A responsible approach means adequately funded, well-trained, and mission-oriented police forces. We need leaders who support law enforcement while holding it to high standards. Doing both is possible. We need policies that make it easier, not harder, for officers to intervene before violence escalates. Let’s make it easier for our brave men and women to do their job. And we need to stop pretending the choice is between blind support and total dismantling. The real choice is between order and disorder, between serious governance and performative politics. Cities that doubled down on safety have seen results. For example, in Miami, homicides fell to a 50-year low in 2022 after the city invested in a precision policing strategy that focused on repeat offenders and community trust.
Real reform doesn’t mean retreat. It means smart policing. Communities don’t thrive when crime is rebranded. Communities thrive when violent crime is taken seriously, and when victims are put at the forefront of public policy.
Take Crime Seriously. Always.
This isn’t just a New York story. This is happening in cities across America where ideological experiments are prioritized over practical safety. Crime is not theoretical. It’s not a debate topic. It’s not a “construct.” It’s real, and real people are paying the price for leaders who refuse to face that fact. We owe our communities better. Not just slogans, but solutions. Not just speeches, but safety. Because at the end of the day, the right to feel safe in your neighborhood isn’t political. It’s a fundamental human right, and any elected official who forgets that is failing the people he or she is supposed to serve.
Nicole Kiprilov is a Republican political operative and strategist. A native New Yorker, she graduated in 2019 from Duke University with a double B.A. in Political Science and French, a specialization in political theory, a minor in Philosophy, and a certification in Philosophy Politics and Economics (PPE). Nicole is the Founder & CEO of Sagamore Hill Strategies, the Executive Director of The American Border Story (TABS), the President of the Coalition for Military Excellence (CME), and leads several initiatives at The America Fund focused on fighting for the America-First movement. Nicole is also an Independent Women's Forum Fellow as well as a Fellow at the Club for Growth Foundation. Nicole's background is in political/governmental press and communications, political consulting, campaign management/strategy, infrastructure-building, and candidate development/coaching. She worked at the NYS Senate as a Legislative Director and Communications Director for State Senator Phil Boyle, the NYC Council as a Chief of Staff to Council Member Vickie Paladino, and also as the Press Secretary and Political Spokesperson to House GOP Conference Chair Elise Stefanik. Nicole has managed state and local races, and she chaired the Campaigns Committee and Women's Caucus at the New York Young Republican Club for over three years. Nicole frequently appears on Newsmax, One America News, and Real America's Voice, she is a contributor at Daily Caller and writes for several other publications, and she is also a frequent guest speaker on communications strategy and professional development. Nicole speaks several languages and was a classical pianist and violinist and a Taekwondo competitor for over a decade.