Skyrocketing crime in cities nationwide was the focus of heated election-year rhetoric in Congress on Wednesday, as Republicans blamed Democrats for efforts to defund the police, while Democratic lawmakers made a pitch for law-and-order initiatives.
In simultaneous press gatherings on Capitol Hill, House Democrats touted new legislation that would increase funding for local law enforcement, while Senate Republicans blasted their colleagues for months of soft-on-crime policies which they say led to the surge in crime.
“Crime is surging across this country,” Sen. Ted Cruz, Texas Republican, told reporters at a GOP event. “Last year, 12 major American cities broke records for homicide rates. What do those 12 cities have in common? Every single one of them is run by Democrats. All of them.”
Republicans chiding Democrats over crime comes as little surprise in Washington. But after months of calls by Democrats to defund the police, some within the Democratic Party are showing signs of worry that the message might stick with voters.
While Republicans were blasting them over lawlessness across the U.S., several House Democrats gathered at the Capitol to show off their tough-on-crime bonafides.
Flanked by leaders in the policing community, including Baltimore Police Commissioner Michael Harrison; Patrick Yoes, president of the Fraternal Order of Police; and Dwayne Crawford of the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives, Democrats touted legislation aimed at boosting funding for local police and distanced themselves from the more radical flank of their party.
“I am co-sponsoring legislation to increase funding our law enforcement and legislation to help police departments in hiring more detectives and specialists,” said Rep. Val Demmings, Florida Democrat. “Nearly half of America’s murders go unsolved. Is anyone really opposed to getting more murderers off of our street?”
Ms. Demmings, a 27-year veteran law enforcement officer and former police chief in Orlando, is hoping to prove that the majority of her party wants to fund law enforcement, despite some Democratic lawmakers, such as Rep. Cori Bush of Missouri, who are sticking to the “defund the police” message.
“I’m very focused on addressing violent crime, but too many members and too many people allow themselves to be distracted and get off the agenda where they should be laser-focused. I have colleagues who say a lot of things every day,” she said. “But we need to stay focused, and make sure law enforcement departments have the resources that they need.”
The recently introduced legislation would establish a Department of Justice grant program to hire, train and retain detectives and victim services personnel to investigate shootings and support victims.
Ms. Demings is also co-sponsoring a separate bipartisan bill to fund the police, up for consideration in the House.
Rep. Robin Kelly, Illinois Democrat, stressed during the press conference that very few Democratic members support the defund-the-police movement.
“You’re talking about what a few people think. If you take a survey among the Democratic Congress members, most people are not saying to defund the police,” she said.
Democrats have been forced to curtail their calls to defund the police in recent months after a rash of headlines highlighting runaway crime in cities across the U.S.
Last week, President Biden took a firm stance against the defund-the-police movement during his visit to New York City, as the city still reeled from the recent loss of two officers shot while responding to a domestic violence call.
“The answer is not to abandon our streets, the answer is to come together,” Mr. Biden told officers gathered at New York City Police headquarters. “The answer is not to defund the police, it’s to give you the tools and training and funding.”
Mr. Biden has taken a hit in recent polling over his handling of crime. And with the midterm elections quickly approaching, lawmakers are scrambling to shed their soft-on-crime label.
But Republicans are determined not to allow voters to forget.
Sen. Todd Young, Indiana Republican, said Wednesday that while a growing number of Democrats “have recently seen the light as it relates to the defund the police rhetoric,” they have nonetheless planted the seed for the spike in crime in the U.S.
“What do you think you get when you talk for months and months about defunding the police?” said Sen. Charles E. Grassley, Iowa Republican. “You demoralize the police. You have difficulties recruiting, you don’t get the proactive policing that we need.”
The senators also blasted “catch-and-release” district attorneys and Mr. Biden’s nominations of U.S. Attorneys and senior Department of Justice officials, whom they say are radically soft on crime.
“President Biden nominated Rachel Rollins to be the U.S. Attorney of Massachusets,” Mr. Cruz said. “Rachel Rollins is one of the many Soros [prosecutors] who as District Attorney of Suffolk County put out a list of 15 crimes her prosecutors were not allowed to prosecute.”
“When you have soft-on-crime Democratic [District Attorneys] that are releasing violent criminals on shockingly low bail, those violent criminals go out and they commit violent crime yet again,” he said.
Ms. Demings said stomping out crime is a process that starts with effective prosecution, saying too many murders in the U.S. go unsolved.
“If we want to reduce the crime rate, and we’ve got to identify those perpetrators, and put them in jail. And certainly, when officers are able to do the investigations, make those arrests, they want those persons to be prosecuted, to the full extent of the law.”
“When people commit murders, when people commit violent crime, in particular, I want those bad people to go to jail and be prosecuted to the full extent of the law,” she said. “I don’t think you’ve heard anybody here suggests that we should be soft on crime.”
