Violent
crime is rising in America. Killings of police are at a 20 year high, the worst
since 9/11. Homicides, carjackings and retail crime are all up.
Criminals
are pushing people in front of subways, looting entire trains filled with
packages and stealing so much from stores they can’t afford to stay open.
I’ve
already come to this floor to describe the horror of increased attacks on
police, of the surge in murders. These tragedies cry out for action.
Our
streets are lawless because blue cities have pulled the police back.
The
consequences of depolicing extend beyond the violence that “defund the police”
rhetoric inspires. They extend beyond the criminals emboldened to commit crimes
like murder and armed carjackings.
We’ve
all seen the images of a California train yard littered with opened boxes as
far as the eye can see. Train robberies are up by 160 percent in L.A. County
over the past year. The governor of California compared the scene to a third
world country.
Organized
retail crime is out of control.
Criminals
rely on the lack of active policing to commit large-scale theft.
According
to the National Retail
Federation,
69 percent of retailers say they’ve had an increase in theft in the last year.
And 78 percent say more law enforcement would help stop this crime.
It
isn’t a secret what liberal cities need to do to keep crime out of their
cities, their railways, their subways, their streets and their stores. Send
police to where the crime is. Tell the police to arrest criminals. Prosecute
them. Do not release dangerous criminals on bail. It is simple and effective.
You
know what won’t work? Some of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle
think the solution is gun control. But here’s the thing—gun control won’t stop
a criminal from pushing an innocent victim in front of a subway train, let
alone keep a criminal from obtaining an illegal gun. The real problem is
enforcement.
The
crime spike began in June 2020 when blue cities nationwide pulled the police
off their streets. Progressive prosecutors stopped prosecuting. And these blue
cities started bail reform policies that released violent criminals. No police
on the streets, but lots of criminals. It’s no surprise that crime has risen.
The
problems are depolicing, progressive prosecution and ineffective bail policies.
Blue city mayors depoliced until some realized their mistake.
New
York City mayor Eric Adams announced he will revive a plainclothes anti-crime
unit to combat the violence, and he’s asking for better bail policies. San
Francisco mayor London Breed declared a state of emergency over crime in her
city. Chicago mayor Lori Lightfoot asked for federal resources to fight crime.
The
nation’s crime spike is the result of less law enforcement. Criminals are feeling
bold because they know they will go uncaught and unpunished.
Far-left
mayors need to use a simple solution with a proven record of success. They need
to bring police back to our streets and keep the criminals off them.
