Biden Seeks to Confront Crime While Supporting Police Reform

WASHINGTON – President Biden said Monday that Americans owed law enforcement and community leaders “big time” when he met with mayors and police chiefs from some of the country’s largest cities, sending a clear signal to progressives in his party and Republican critics that he would crack down on crime.

At a meeting at the White House, Mr Biden urged local officials to invest in law enforcement agencies and establish community-based programs that could help restore trust between people of color and law enforcement agencies.

“We know we can step in before the violence breaks out if we use trusted community members and encourage more community policing,” said Biden.

President and Attorney General Merrick B. Garland, who also attended the meeting, had “been with us for a long time,” said Biden. “A long time. I have dealt with this topic for most of my career.”

For Mr Biden, the meeting was part of an increasingly urgent effort by the White House to show the President’s crackdown on gun violence as murders rise in cities across the country and the Republicans accuse his government of being gentle with crime. The president has urged Congress to pass measures that would close the background check loopholes, limit offensive weapons, and remove arms manufacturers immunity from trial, but its call for bipartisan arms control efforts will stall.

Last month, Mr. Biden urged state and local governments to use funds from the American Rescue Plan to hire more police officers and increase enforcement.

But the harsh language is difficult for Mr Biden, who risks alienating congressional liberals and voters pushing for criminal justice reform following the police murder of blacks last year. Some of the vocalist Democrats in Congress continue to demand that lawmakers strip down police agencies who use racist tactics and instead invest in education, mental health, or other social services.

Among those attending Monday’s meeting was Eric Adams, the president of Brooklyn borough, who won the Democratic nomination for New York City mayor in part by making public safety a centerpiece of his campaign.

By inviting Mr Adams, who is heavily favored to win the November general election, Mr Biden shows a desire to strike the same balance that Mr Adams, a former New York City Police Captain, did in the primary – To please the Liberals for reform efforts, but also to show that he will do something against what the President called the “first responsibility of democracy”: for mutual security.

Mr Biden’s plan, which he reiterated Monday, is to ask communities to use $ 350 billion in funds from his $ 1.9 trillion coronavirus aid package to increase departmental recruitment and to support more community-oriented organizations. More than a dozen local leaders in the United States have already suggested using the funds to expand law enforcement, invest in social services, or develop gun violence prevention technology.

Following the meeting, Mr. Adams commended the government for encouraging investment in both traditional law enforcement agencies and community-based solutions designed to address the breach of trust between the police and many colored communities.

“They call me ‘the Biden of Brooklyn,'” Mr. Adams told reporters outside the West Wing after meeting in the Roosevelt Room.

“One thing is clear to me: public safety and justice are essential to prosperity,” said Adams. “And if we don’t have the two of us together, it doesn’t matter how many cops you take on the street. We can no longer respond to symptoms. It is time to respond to the underlying causes of the violence in our city. “

But whether the president will succeed in reshaping the perception of his party if he tries to reconcile rising crime and police reform is unclear.

Americans are concerned about Mr. Biden’s handling of crime. A poll by Washington Post-ABC News published this month showed that only 38 percent agreed, 48 percent disagreed, and 14 percent disagreed.

Iowa Republican Senator Charles E. Grassley wrote a letter to the Justice Department on Monday criticizing Mr. Biden’s strategy for focusing on targeting arms dealers.

“Increasing the acquisition of firearms is fueled by rising crime rates, not the other way around,” wrote Grassley.

Proponents of a solid overhaul of the criminal justice system have already expressed concerns that raising alerts about the rise in violent crime will undermine efforts to contain police forces.

“What worries me deeply is that we now have a small spike in crime that will change the debate and people will say, ‘Forget about police reform. We need the police unleashed, ”said MP Karen Bass, a California Democrat and one of the sponsors of the police legislation now stalled in the Senate.

Other progressives continue to call for efforts to be withdrawn from the police force in order to force change. However, the Biden administration hopes that the availability of the stimulus funds will give more mainstream Democratic candidates a chance to argue that they are not part of this movement, a White House official said.

Cedric Richmond, a senior adviser to Mr Biden, turned the tables on the Republicans last month – accusing them of trying to compensate the police for failing to vote for the coronavirus bailout package, which is $ 350 billion the local governments were sent.

Republicans who opposed the stimulus package did not vote for a targeted cut in police funding, but Richmond’s argument appears to be part of the strategy to neutralize the Republican attacks.

Mr. Biden “not only sends a message to the Democratic candidates, he is also trying to provide cover for the Democratic candidates because he, too, is prone to softening on crime,” said Brian Sanderoff of Research and Polling Inc. in Albuquerque.

This dynamic is playing out in cities and towns across the country.

In Albuquerque, Mayor Tim Keller is challenged by Sheriff Manny Gonzales, who has made it clear that he will go on the offensive over rising murders in the city. Both candidates are Democrats, but Mr Gonzales’s move could help him win some Republican votes.

Mr Keller has responded in part by saying that he will follow Mr Biden’s instructions and use 15 percent of the stimulus funds to renovate police departments, expand weapon detection technology, and aid in the recruitment of civil servants.

“Crime will be a hot topic as we near Election Day here in Albuquerque,” said Sanderoff.

In Georgia, DeKalb County’s chairman Michael Thurmond said Mr. Biden’s proposal would help fend off criticism from two fronts: Republicans who say Democrats mitigate crime and advocates of the criminal justice system who say state funds Mental health or social areas should flow into services rather than police.

Mr Thurmond has proposed that the stimulus fund invest $ 11 million to give officials a loyalty bonus and set up a license plate scanning system. But he also suggests using the funds to invest in mental health programs and a police sports league.

“It’s not an either-or anymore,” said Mr. Thurmond.