09.14.22

Biden And Democrats Did Nothing While The Crime Wave Continued This Summer

As Violent Crime Continued To Increase In American Cities This Summer, President Biden Did Nothing And Senate Democrats Refused To Redirect Any Of The Money In Their Reckless Taxing And Spending Spree Towards Fighting Crime

 

SENATE REPUBLICAN LEADER MITCH McCONNELL (R-KY): “While Democrats’ economic policies have waged war on working families’ financial security, their soft-on-crime policies have eroded Americans’ physical security. Cities, towns, and neighborhoods across the country are reeling from a wave of violent crime. Just last weekend, my home state of Kentucky experienced a spate of murders and attempted murders that rattled residents and overwhelmed police…. Of course, this crisis isn’t just hitting Kentucky. These trends are nationwide. For years, the far left has impugned the motives and honor of police officers and taken aim at their funding. For years, top liberal donors have poured money into the campaigns of radical district attorneys in big cities whose whole stated agenda is to not prosecute crimes. For years, Democratic elites have pushed for letting violent criminals out of prison…. Our Democratic friends like to talk about fairness and compassion. There is nothing fair or compassionate about letting cities descend into violence and chaos. There is nothing fair or compassionate about legislating like career criminals deserve fifth and sixth chances more than young mothers deserve the right to go out for a morning jog and come home alive.” (Sen. McConnell, Floor Remarks, 9/14/2022)

 

REMINDER: Senate Democrats Refused To Redirect Any Of The Hundreds Of Billions Of Dollars In Their Taxing And Spending Spree Towards Fighting The Crime Surge In America

All 50 Senate Democrats voted against Sen. Marco Rubio’s (R-FL) motion to commit the bill to the Judiciary Committee to spend some of the hundreds of billions of dollars in the legislation on fighting crime. (H.R. 5376, Roll Call Vote #304: Motion Rejected 50-50: D 0-48; R 50-0; I 0-2, 8/07/2022)

 

Violent Crime Continued To Rise In Major U.S. Cities During The First Half Of 2022

“[T]otal violent crime continues to rise [in major U.S. cities], according to a midyear survey of large law enforcement agencies…. Overall violent crime spiked 4.2% from Jan. 1 to June 30, 2022, compared to the same period as last year, the survey by the Major Cities Chiefs Association found. Robbery skyrocketed by nearly 12% and aggravated assaults increased by around 3%, the survey of 70 agencies found.” (Axios, 9/10/2022)

“Compared to 2019 midyear figures, the same cities in total have experienced a 50% increase in homicides and a roughly 36% increase in aggravated assaults.” (Axios, 9/10/2022)

  • “So far this year, Atlanta has seen a whopping 20% jump in homicides, while New Orleans has experienced a nearly 40% spike. Baltimore, Dallas, Phoenix, and Denver also have seen jumps in homicides this year …” (Axios, 9/10/2022)

 

Across The Country, Many Cities Suffered From A Summer Of Crime And Violence

LOUISVILLE, KY: “In the span of just three days, shootings across the city left six dead − the second-highest number of homicides to occur within just one weekend this year − and another person died in a crash caused by an intoxicated driver. With these latest homicides, it brings the total number this year to 121, just short of the 136 homicides Louisville had experienced by this time last year. Of this year's victims, 112 were fatally shot. These six fatal shootings in a single weekend fall just shy of the seven homicides that happened during a March weekend − the city's most violent so far this year.” (“With 7 Dead, Louisville Suffers One Of The Deadliest Weekends Of 2022,” [Louisville] Courier Journal, 9/12/2022)

MEMPHIS, TN: “Memphis had already been on edge. Just days earlier, a kindergarten teacher had been abducted on an early morning jog in the city and was later found dead. But on [September 7th], the city felt paralyzed. That night, a gunman set off a frenzied manhunt with a string of shootings that left a trail of bloodshed across Memphis, killing four people, wounding three others and causing widespread alarm until he was cornered by the police and taken into custody. Now, the day after the rampage, fear had settled into fury, stoking a renewed sense of anger and concern over violence in Memphis. ‘I’m angry that our citizens had to shelter in place for their own safety until the suspect was caught,’ Jim Strickland, the mayor of Memphis, said in a news conference on Thursday. ‘This is no way for us to live, and it is not acceptable.’ Memphis has long struggled with chronic poverty and crime and is often ranked among the nation’s most violent cities. Its troubles have intensified in recent years. In 2021, the city had a record number of killings, with 346. In 2022, the violent crime rate compared with last year’s has only marginally improved, according to police statistics.” (“In Memphis, Renewed Attention on Violence After Shooting Rampage,” The New York Times, 9/08/2022)

GRAND RAPIDS, DETROIT, AND OAKLAND COUNTY, MI: “In the first seven months of 2022, Grand Rapids recorded 3,363 crimes, including 761 assaults and 15 homicides ? all above averages for the previous three years. In Oakland County, there were 26 homicides in the first six months of 2022, double the tally for the same period last year. There have been 10 homicides this year in Pontiac alone. Four of the county victims were children aged 4, 6, 7 and 16. Detroit has been jolted by five mass shootings in three months that left four dead and 28 wounded. At least four people were shot in each of the incidents, according to the Gun Violence Archive, a nonprofit gun research group.” (“Rise In Violent Crime Plagues Some Michigan Metros This Summer,” Bridge Michigan, 8/15/2022)

LAS VEGAS, NV: “The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department shared a warning on Facebook Friday morning in which it urged residents to avoid an area in the northeast valley due to an uptick in crime. In the post, LVMPD’s Northeast Area Command urged residents to ‘avoid congregating and hanging out in the desert area at the intersection of Lake Mead Boulevard and Arnona Road. The post says the area is ‘otherwise known as The Saddle.’ According to police, there has been an ‘uptick in violent events at this location, particularly at night.’ The department said they’ve received reports of illegal shootings, robberies and other crimes…. Many homes surround the area where police are urging people to stay away. One homeowner said her car has been broken into numerous times. ‘Really not safe,’ said homeowner Stephanie Ayala. ‘Especially in my area it is not safe.’” (“Las Vegas Police Warn To Avoid Area In Northeast Valley Due To Uptick In Violent Crime,” KVVU, 9/09/2022)

 

Residents And Local Officials Are Blaming Progressive Legal Policies Championed By Democrats That Produced Pullbacks In Policing And ‘A “Revolving Door” Criminal System’

PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTY, MD: “Prince George’s County Executive Angela D. Alsobrooks said [September 5th] that a curfew would go into effect for juveniles younger than 17, beginning [September 9th], to battle crime after one of the deadliest months in decades for the jurisdiction just outside D.C…. Alsobrooks (D), flanked by the county’s police chief and council chair, also lashed out at the county’s prosecutor, courts and families for what she said was a systemic failure to hold young people responsible for their dangerous, risky and sometimes criminal behavior…. Nearly two-thirds of the juveniles arrested by police for carjacking this year have prior criminal records, and half were 15 years old or younger, Alsobrooks said…. Alsobrooks defended police, saying arrests have been made. ‘The problem is what happens after the arrest or, in our case, what hasn’t happened or doesn’t happen,’ she said.” (“Prince George’s County Executive Announces Curfew For Juveniles,” The Washington Post, 9/12/2022)

  • “Police Chief Malik Aziz echoed her frustration, saying officers have become caught up in a game of ‘catch and release’ with people who are taken in on criminal charges but not kept in jail. Aziz, responding to a question, acknowledged broad efforts to restructure policing and achieve more equitable justice in the nation since the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis more than two years ago, but he also suggested that the pendulum has swung too far with what he characterized as lenient treatment of certain criminal offenses. ‘Only so long can you have police going through a system where they continually arrest and bring people back around in a circle to release to further victimize residents of our county,’ Aziz said.” (“Prince George’s County Executive Announces Curfew For Juveniles,” The Washington Post, 9/12/2022)

DENVER, CO: “[Metro State University professor Stacey] Hervey also said the increases in murders in Colorado and nationwide this year are, in part, the result of a general shift in policing after the George Floyd protests in 2020. ‘We really asked police officers to not be as involved, defund the police, ask them to come up with different ways. And that’s all good, but the reality is crime is still going to occur and there are people out there who are going to take advantage of other people,’ Hervey said.” (“Murder Rates Rising In Metro Denver,” 9News Denver, 7/25/2022)

  • “Violent crime prosecutions are not keeping pace with violent crime. A group of eight Colorado district attorneys debuted a dashboard on [September 8th] that details prosecution information…. The number of violent crime charges in Colorado’s most populous judicial districts has not risen with its violent crime rates. The number of violent crimes in the state rose 20% between 2019 and 2021. Prosecutors in the eight participating judicial districts, however, have not brought higher numbers of violent crime charges…. The 2nd Judicial District, which encompasses Denver, has had record low numbers of violent crime charges in 2022. Both quarters this year have had fewer quarterly violent crime charges than at any point in the last five years.” (“Colorado Violent Crime Rising, But Not Prosecutions,” KDVR, 9/09/2022)

NEW ORLEANS, LA: “[R]ecently elected progressive officials in the [New Orleans] criminal legal system face criticism tied to a rise in shootings, murders and carjackings during the pandemic. The violence includes several high-profile incidents, like the killing of a 73-year-old woman in March who was dragged alongside her car during a carjacking; four teenagers have been charged as adults with second-degree murder. The political backlash resembles the pressure on progressive officials in cities like New York and Chicago. In San Francisco, voters recently recalled District Attorney Chesa Boudin…. Many residents are scared. In a June poll commissioned by a coalition of crime prevention, civil rights and business groups, three-quarters of respondents described the city as unsafe and 84% said crime had gotten worse over the previous year. Calls for service to the New Orleans Police Department tell a similar story. In the year ending in May 2022, there were 235 homicide reports, roughly twice the 116 reported in the year ending in May 2019. Over that same period, reported shooting incidents also doubled, and reported carjackings tripled…. [I]n a series of hearings this year, multiple city councilmembers, all Democrats, referred to what they called a ‘revolving door’ legal system, citing low bonds that allowed people accused of violent crimes to go free before trial.” (“New Orleans Battled Mass Incarceration. Then Came The Backlash Over Violent Crime.,” NBC News/The Marshall Project, 7/06/2022)

  • “Portia Pollock was stabbed to death in front of her home in June 2021. The killer, who had a long criminal record and was out on bail awaiting trial in an armed robbery, drove off in her car…. The man who killed Pollock, 46-year-old Bryan Andry, was accused in an armed robbery and a carjacking in the summer of 2020. He remained in jail for months until a newly inaugurated judge, Angel Harris, who ran on a reform platform, agreed to reduce his bond in February 2021. Four months later, he killed Pollock. Andry pleaded guilty to manslaughter in May and was sentenced to 35 years in prison…. Andry’s criminal history dates to 1991 when he was 17, and he spent most of his adult life in state prison. When he was outside, he racked up a string of robbery, theft, and gun and drug possession arrests, court records show.” (“New Orleans Battled Mass Incarceration. Then Came The Backlash Over Violent Crime.,” NBC News/The Marshall Project, 7/06/2022)

CHICAGO, IL: ALDERMAN BRIAN HOPKINS (D-WARD 2): “This neighborhood is being targeted by criminals. They know they can come here, carjack a car, and go on a robbery spree unfettered, unchecked - and walk away with significant proceeds…. And if they do get arrested, they’re typically back out on the street on either no bond or a low bond or electronic monitoring - and they go right back to robbing people.” (“Data Show Some Types Of Crimes Are Decreasing In Chicago, But Robberies And Carjackings Are Spiking,” CBS Chicago, 6/30/2022)

 

###
SENATE REPUBLICAN COMMUNICATIONS CENTER

Related Issues: Crime, Senate Democrats, Law Enforcement