Nationally, crime has decreased over those decades you mention. However, murders have increased (nationally) since the beginning of the Covid pandemic.

Since these trends also hold in Burlington, I’m inclined to believe “defunding the police” wasn’t as involved as you seem to suggest.

As another commenter suggested, you might find better luck attempting to foster a discussion instead of starting a fight: “I’m concerned about the number of homicides in Burlington over [time period you didn’t include]. This is a notable increase compared to previous years. Is there evidence that the “defund the police” movement caused this?”