While President Joe Biden will announce Wednesday new measures to curb a rise in violent crime, there are still questions about the effectiveness of federal efforts to calm what could be an unpredictable summer.
Biden’s plan is focused on gun violence, giving money to cities that require more police and providing community support. After plummeting in the first months of the coronavirus epidemic, crime rates have increased. This has caused anxiety and economic hardship.
Jen Psaki, White House press secretary, stated that Biden believes crime is on the rise and would focus attention on ways to stop violence from being committed with firearms.
There are also complicated politics involved, and Biden’s plan shows just how limited the Democratic president’s options on this issue.
He is taking steps to crack down on gun dealers who violate federal law. He is also seeking additional funding for the national gun tracking agency.
The rest of his strategy is mostly for struggling localities. He encourages cities to use COVID-19 relief money for policing. It could have an impact if city officials listen to White House. It’s voluntary.
White House aides think that Biden’s long legislative record in fighting crime as a senator is difficult to portray as soft. The president has made it clear that he opposes the “defund police” movement. This has effectively been used against other Democrats to make them appear anti-law enforcement.
He’s also trying to support progressives’ efforts reform policing after a year of protests and public anger sparked by George Floyd’s death by police and the deaths of other Black Americans. Although they don’t necessarily have to be in conflict, both combating crime or overhauling the police are becoming more prominently branded that way.
According to senior administration officials, Biden will attempt to do both simultaneously. They spoke on condition of anonymity as they weren’t authorized to talk publicly about the matter.
Republicans quickly attempted to paint the measures as government excesses and linked them to their efforts to rein in police brutality.
“I believe a lot it ties back this whole ‘defund police’ movement, and some of the disruptions we had in civil society last years,” stated Nebraska Governor. Fox News’ Pete Ricketts spoke on the topic. “And that’s part, I think, when you start to undermine that foundation, you start breaking down the bonds that hold our together, and that’s why we see an increase in crime.”
Biden will announce a policy of “zero tolerance” — not to be confused the Trump administration’s policy of “zero tolerance” on immigration, which has separated thousands from their families at U.S.–Mexico border. Gun dealers who violate federal law will have their licenses to sell revoked upon the first offense.
Already, the president announced half-dozen executive measures on gun control. These include cracking down “ghost weapons,” which are homemade firearms without serial numbers that can be traced and often bought without a background check.
Many anti-crime and gun safety organizations, such as the Brady Campaign and Everytown for Gun Safety applauded government’s efforts.
“The president is starting a crucial conversation about reducing violent crimes. Paul DelPonte of the National Crime Prevention Council said that a greater investment in community interventions would help reduce violent crime. Crime stoppers are those strategies that encourage public participation in public safety. It makes sense to have more officers trained in crime prevention and certified on the streets.
Two bills were passed by the House that required background checks for all firearm sales and transfers, and expanded 10-day reviews for gun purchases. It is unlikely to pass the Senate. There would need to be some Republican support for passage.
Biden will also push for greater transparency in gun data and better coordination between states. He will also push Congress to increase funding for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, which is responsible for enforcing federal firearm laws and regulating gun dealers. To combat illegal gun traffickers, the Justice Department has also launched strike forces in Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington, D.C.
Police officers have stated that they are facing increasing crime and tensions between communities and police. Some say they don’t get the support they need and blame the spike on their own actions.
In remarks Tuesday at a forum about policing, Baltimore Police Commissioner Michael Harrison stated that many of us are witnessing a rise of crime. “Some of these calls go to the extreme, dismantle or defund… but we are sworn to protect people.”
Biden was to discuss how $350Billion of the $1.9 Trillion COVID-19 relief package could be used by cities for law enforcement, overtime, prosecutions, and investment in technology to improve law enforcement. According to officials, the Biden administration hopes that cities will use the money to fund alternative policing and invest in community policing.
Although crime is on the rise, homicides, shootings, and other crimes are up in Chicago, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Portland, Oregon, Baltimore, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and Houston last year, violent crime overall is still lower than it was a decade ago, or even five years ago. The majority of violent crimes fell during the coronavirus pandemic’s first six months, when people stayed inside and away from other people.
Crime began increasing last summer. Experts say this trend is difficult to identify and likely due to historical unemployment, fear of the virus, and mass anger about stay-at-home jobs.
The rising violence is occurring against the backdrop of the national discussion on policing, and racism in police policing – and as a reform bill for police is being created in Congress.
Biden was a senator and wrote many major anti-crime bills, including one in 1994 that included provisions that are now considered an overreaction to crime spikes of the 1980s, 1990s. Critics claim that these bills led to mass incarceration for Black Americans. Biden’s involvement in the 2020 campaign was a major flashpoint.
Biden has rethought some aspects of the legislation and acknowledged its detrimental impact on many Black Americans. He and his associates still support the law’s provisions to deal with domestic violence, ban assault weapons, and finance community police.
Officials said that the president will push cities to spend $122 billion to keep their schoolchildren busy during summer, when they are often victims and perpetrators of violence.
