President Biden, don’t allow DC’s crime problem to become Democrats’ problem in 2024 

Washington DC, have crime problem.

As reported by Vox put it Last month, in 2023, “Washington, D.C. had its deadliest year in more than 20 years, with 274 people killed, making it one of the deadliest cities in the country.” According to Vox. While violent crime has fallen sharply in other regions, “it has jumped nearly 40 percent in the nation’s capital.”

And if Donald Trump he has his wayCrime in Washington DC will become a political issue for Democrats in 2024. He’s going to use that in conjunction with the problem. Migration along the country’s southern borderto portray them as soft on crime and indifferent to the suffering it inflicts on ordinary Americans.

Earlier this month, President Trump promised If he were returned to the White House, he said, “the federal government would inherit this filthy, criminal disgrace to our country.”

As NBC News report“Trump has repeatedly promised to virtually occupy the nation’s capital with federal troops, a strategy he used in his final year in office at the height of the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests and last year. He told an audience of conservatives, “I’m sending the National Party to stand guard until law and order is restored,” and “I’m not even going to call the mayor.” ”

What Trump presented to the New York Times to call “A dark, often dystopian vision of a crime-ravaged America that builds on his message in 2020 that the nation’s cities are in decline.” He seized the mantle of “law and order,” He wants to blame America’s problems on “progressive politicians, activists, and policies.”

He is supported in this effort by Republican politicians and Fox News coverage. To tell, wants to “make Washington, D.C.’s fight against crime a partisan flashpoint and important topic” and “use the city’s fights as an opportunity to criticize Democratic leaders.” Joe Biden cannot stand idly by as President Trump and his allies target Washington, D.C.’s crime problem and try to make it a national issue.

This is not to say that Washington, D.C.’s crime problem is not serious. that’s right.

CNN coverage He claimed it was “depriving residents of their sense of security” as violent crime increased by 39 per cent last year. “Murders, carjackings, and robberies across Washington, D.C., have affected prominent politicians and ordinary citizens alike, and many in the nation’s capital are horrified by the rise in crime.”

There already done There were 57 carjackings in the city in 2024, 30 of which involved firearms. And only eight people were arrested in those cases. So far this year, was there 22 murders and 132 assaults with a deadly weapon.

But despite what President Trump wants people to believe, the differences in Washington, D.C.’s crime problem cannot be laid down at the feet of progressives and policies that stifle law enforcement.

In recent years, USA Today Note, Washington, D.C., “employs more police officers than any other city in the nation and will maintain 5.7 police officers per 1,000 citizens in 2022, 3.3 more than the national average.” Mayor Muriel Bowser has “pledged to increase the police roster to up to 4,000 people.”

Nevertheless, President Trump wants to highlight D.C.’s crime problem without acknowledging that it is an outlier compared to what is happening in other parts of the United States.

“America’s 5 Cities” USA Today Observe“The number of homicides decreased last year. From 2022 to 2023, the homicide rate will be 11.9% in New York, 16.4% in Los Angeles, 13% in Chicago, 20% in Houston,” according to internal statistics from these police departments. It was down 22% in Phoenix.”

According to an NPR article on February 12th. “If we look at the national picture, we see a decline in homicides. Data from more than 200 cities shows a 12.2% decline in 2023 compared to 2022. Rape, robbery, and aggravated assault all decreased.”

Despite this good news, the Biden campaign, like Mr. Biden, will likely face headwinds on crime. will be encountered in economicsBecause what people think about crime in this country has not kept pace with the facts on the ground.

November 2023 Gallup Poll I emphasize this point.

“More than three-quarters of Americans (77%) think there is more crime in the United States than there was a year ago, and a majority (55%) think the same about local crime. The numbers are also similar to what Gallup measured last year, ranking them among the most pessimistic for their respective trends.”

Additionally, “63 percent of Americans say America’s crime problem is very or very serious, up from 54 percent when last measured in 2021, and 63 percent of Americans say America’s crime problem is very or extremely serious, up from 54 percent when last measured in 2021, and 63 percent of Americans say America’s crime problem is very or very serious, up from 54 percent when last measured in 2021, The highest previous reading of 60% was recorded in the first measurement in 2000, as well as in 2010 and 2016. ”

“Trump’s 21-point lead over Biden would do a better job of combating crime and violence,” said a respondent in another poll.

The former president intends to drum up that perception by slamming Washington, D.C.’s crime problem in hopes of scaring voters to his side.

If Joe Biden wants to win, he will win. we need to tackle the crime problem. The president must demonstrate that he understands and cares about law and order while reiterating his commitment to advancing criminal justice reform. He will need to paint a true picture of Washington, D.C.’s crime problem. That’s an outlier amid a sharp decline in violent crime nationwide.

NBC News suggest Biden got the message.

“The White House is preparing to ramp up its criticism of Republicans more broadly on crime, with plans to highlight Republican efforts to cut the Justice Department’s Community-Based Policing Services (COPS) program,” the paper said. “There is.” Oppose a ban on assault weapons. and defund the FBI. The White House will argue that by proposing to restore federal spending to 2022 levels, for example, Republicans would cut funding for crime-fighting programs. ”

As the 2024 election campaign progresses, Biden can thread a needle While distancing ourselves from the remnants of the politically toxic progressive movement to defund the police, we recognize how violent crime shapes the lives of those who fear it, and we Showed that you have a plan to do something.

He can show that he is sympathetic to progressive criticism. Racism in law enforcement Not just the criminal justice system; take executive action to address the chaos at the southern border. By comparison, 2023 Chicago mayoral election results, where Mayor Lori Lightfoot received just 17 percent of the vote. In an election dominated by crime issues, Results of this month’s New York Congressional special election It shows the political benefits of doing so.

Despite the severity of Washington, D.C.’s crime problem and President Trump’s desire to capitalize on it for his campaign, I hope Democratic strategist Rhys Smith was right. To tell Regarding this issue, he said, “If Republicans (think) that President Biden is going to put forward a wedge issue for 2024, they (think) they are wrong.”

Austin Surratt (@ljstprof) is the William Nelson Cromwell Professor of Law and Political Science at Amherst College. The views expressed here do not necessarily represent the views of Amherst College.