Trump is now speaking at the White House on “Combatting Violent Crime in American Cities,” as his administration weathers criticism for sending federal agents to crack down on protests against racism in Portland, Oregon.
“Today I’m announcing a surge of federal law enforcement into American communities plagued by violent crime,” Trump said. “We’ll work every single day to restore public safety,”
Trump then launched into a lengthy description of recent violence in Chicago, accusing the city’s Democratic leaders of failing the city.
“No mother should ever have to cradle her dead child in her arms simply because politicians refused to do what is necessary to secure their neighborhood and to secure their city,” Trump said.
The president then announced he would “immediately surge federal law enforcement to the city of Chicago,” vowing to send “hundreds” of federal agents to the city “to help drive down violent crime.”
Hi there, it’s Maanvi Singh, blogging from the West Coast.
Trump is baselessly blaming “lawlessness” in cities on “deadly politicians” and “extreme politicians” who he says want to abolish the police. Here’s a fact check, courtesy of my colleague Sam Levin:
If cities defund police, will violence and crime increase?
Abolition groups argue that policing and prison are at their core racist and harmful and make communities less safe. They also point out that the vast majority of police work has nothing to do with responding to or preventing violence, and that police have a terrible track record of solving murders or handling rape and domestic violence.
While there is no contemporary example of defunding in the US, there are studies suggesting that less policing could mean less crime. In 2014 and 2015, New York officers staged a “slowdown” to protest the mayor, arguing that if they did less police work, the city would be less safe. But the opposite turned out to be true. When the officers took a break from “broken windows policing”, meaning targeting low-level offenses, there was a drop in crime. Researchers posited that aggressive policing on the streets for petty matters can ultimately cause social disruption and lead to more crime. Policing that punishes poverty, such as hefty traffic tickets and debts, can also create conditions where crime is more likely. When New York ended “stop and frisk”, crime did not rise.
Again, attorney general William Barr has baselessly linked increases in violent crime with “extreme reaction that has demonized the police”.
The Department of Justice will provide $61m in grants to hire hundreds of police officers across the country, Trump said - a response to calls to “defund the police” and instead invest in education, housing, and mental health care.
