Denying Police Funding is Not the Solution, Argues Biden

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    On Thursday, President Biden stated the solution is not to undercut the police, but to equip them to be partners and defenders in society.

    During a Thursday meeting at the NYPD headquarters, Biden and various New York community leaders discussed how federal, state, and local police departments could promptly remove shooters off the streets and reduce gun violence.

    Biden praised the NYPD officers and their spouses.

    Deaths of Police Detectives

    The president’s visit to New York City comes after hundreds of uniformed police officers converged on Manhattan last month to pay their condolences to dead NYPD police investigators Jason Rivera and Wilbert Mora.

    “Enough is enough because we understand we can do something,” Biden remarked. “You and I, Mayor Adams. We need to work together to develop trust and make us all safer,” he added.

    “Defunding the cops is not the answer. So we must be partners and protectors.” Biden emphasized they are “not about defunding.”

    “We’re about financing and giving greater services,” Biden stated. “We need additional social workers and therapists. We need more individuals who know how to talk to people, calm them down when they are ready to leap from a roof.”

    A New Strategy

    People in the Biden administration came to the NYPD headquarters on Thursday to talk about a strategy to stop the flow of weapons, strengthen law enforcement, and fund community policing. 

    According to senior officials, investing in evidence-based high crime prevention, increasing summer training, job opportunities, and other support and services for teens and young adults is important.

    According to the Justice Department, increasing resources committed to district-specific violent crime methods is part of the approach.

    A senior administration official said, “We will collaborate with state and local police to address the most important sources of violence in each district.”

    “Iron Pipeline” refers to illegal gun trafficking up the East Coast and into cities such as Baltimore.

    This initiative would “educate a nationwide cadre of prosecutors and disseminate investigative and prosecution tools” to assist in pursuing charges against people who utilize ghost weapons to commit crimes.

    For example, “ghost weapons,” which don’t have serial numbers, were a target of the Biden administration in 2021. These weapons don’t have serial numbers, making it hard for law enforcement to figure out where, when, and how they were made or sold.

    There are “record levels of money” in the American Rescue Plan for cities and states to “put more officers on the ground and work with community-based prevention programs and intervention strategies,” the White House said.

    On Thursday, Biden called on Congress to strike a bipartisan compromise on the FY22 spending budget, including $500 million for “proven solutions” to reduce gun crime.

    The plan provides $300 million for responsible law enforcement through the COPS Hiring Program and $200 million for evidence-based high-crime initiatives.

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