Major cities saw an increase in violent crime over the July Fourth weekend. Public unease is now evident in public polling and election results.
Summary
Crime is spiking and becoming a major concern for residents and voters.
- In Chicago, the Chief of Police admonished the local courts, saying the court system’s release of violent offenders are making the city streets less safe after a crime wave that left 100 shot and 18 dead over the July Fourth weekend.
- Jackson, Mississippi is facing calls from its own city council members for the governor to activate and deploy the state’s National Guard to deter a spike in violent crime.
- Police in Oakland, California were assaulted during what is being called “12 hours of non-stop chaos.”
- Only 35% of New Orleans residents believe their city is safe while nationwide polling shows the United States is evenly split on their confidence in the Biden administration’s ability to stop the nationwide rise in homicides.
- The New York City Democratic Mayoral Primary was officially decided, with former cop Eric Adams, who ran against defunding the police, being declared the winner.
- The Guardian framed a spike in crime, and the federal response to it, as Democrats having to deal with “time-honored attacks from Republicans” accusing them of being weak on crime.
- The New York Times similarly characterized the national conversation as one in which Democrats must “fund the police” to blunt Republican talking points.
- The predicament of progressive prosecutors was the emphasis of Yahoo News’ coverage, in which local prosecutors are having difficulty with repeat violent offenders and the rise in crime while declaring “progressive prosecution” is one of the “more important civil rights movements in our time” according to Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner.
- The Washington Times highlighted the pushback from New York City’s police and detectives associations, which have criticized issues such bail reform that release those arrested without bail and allow them to quickly reoffend before even standing trial.
- Reporting on a local burglary crime, Fox News focused on the increase in crime across the board in New York City, noting shootings are up by more than 1/3 from last year while sex crimes have increased 25%.
- RedState criticized New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo for declaring a state of emergency over “gun violence”, comparing the emergency orders to Cuomo’s overreach during the coronavirus pandemic, and that his remarks about firearms show how misinformed he is about the nature and purpose of the Second Amendment.
Author’s Take
Buried deep in the Washington Times report on New York City’s crime problem is the acknowledgement that, while crime is on the rise, it is nowhere near the problem it was in the 1970s and 1980s. That is important context in the current debate, one both sides should recognize.
Just as right-leaning outlets would serve their readers better by providing that historical context on crime rates, left-leaning outlets need to abandon their reflexive “Republicans pounce” mantra on any issue not benefiting Democratic politicians, including crime. Pretending there is no spike in crime and framing it as a conservative fever dream does their readership no favors and makes it more difficult for a responsible debate over police abuse of power, prosecutorial conduct, and how to deal with violent repeat offenders.
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© Dallas Gerber, 2021
