Why Has The Crime Rate Become A Political Football?

Leftier types seem to have been trying hard to resist the conclusion that violent crime--and especially murders--is/are going up. The Brennan Center seems to have been cheating to explain away the increase. But the trend--or blip--is real, and not just an anomaly in a few cities. 

   What's up with that? My guess is that the left is terrified that the Ferguson Effect is real--and their main argument has been to argue that there's no real / significant increase in crime. I absolutely won't be surprised in any way if the Ferguson effect is real...and I have no sympathy for those who want to mask it for political reasons. But I'll actually be even less surprised if it turns out to be something else...or a combination of things, with the Ferguson effect being just one of them.