- Less police = longer response times
- Longer response times = citizens not sticking around for a report
- No report = no reported crime
- No reported crime = crime "reduction"
The citizens are the ones who have it right though - they (or their friends) are the ones sitting in the hospital bleeding or telling everyone who will listen at work, at home, on their social media site that they got attacked, beaten or robbed.
And the complaint throughout? The police never showed up. The police didn't care. It'll never be solved, so why bother to report it.
"Perception" is the least of our worries. This is a failure in progress of epic proportions.