Hillary Clinton says she believe in community policing. At the first Presidential debate she defended the practice in major cities by claiming “crime has continued to drop, including murders.”
First, violent crime in major cities is not on the decline and second, she immediately discusses limiting community control over policing. No.
Here is the real Clinton fact check.
The FBI 2015 violent crime analysis actually says “In 2015, the estimated number of murders in the nation was 15,696. This was a 10.8 percent increase from the 2014 estimate, a 7.1 percent increase from the 2011 figure.” While Clinton lead the audience to believe violent crime was decreasing, in reality the worst kinds are still on the rise.
Clinton’s misguidance on violent crime is much worse than just that though; in 2016 the problem will only grow with major cities still being neglected.
The Brennan Center for Justice analyzed current violent crime trends predict a 13.1 percent rise this year in murders, leading to a projected 31.5 percent increase from 2014 to 2016. The center writes that half of the additional murders taking place can be attributed to Baltimore, Chicago, and Houston.
Half of the total violent crime increases is driven by just two cities, Los Angeles and Chicago, writing “Based on this data, the authors conclude there is no evidence of a national murder wave, yet increases in these select cities are indPresidential debateeed a serious problem.”
Clinton is correct, community policing is a necessity. Yet she and the Obama administration have transferred all power from local police to the Civil Rights Division at the Justice Department and transformed a problem for individual cities into a national epidemic which a national solution cannot cure.
After describing the misleading statistics on crime reduction Clinton attacks police for perpetuating racially based policing and makes claims of systematic racism in the criminal justice system. Her answer? Remove power from the communities she claimed would be so effective at reducing crime.
President Obama has already begun this process through sue and settle lawsuits and consent decrees. President Obama has allowed federal authority to take over major police departments across the country is places like Miami, Florida, Los Angeles, California, Ferguson, Missouri and Chicago, Illinois. These are all cities with alarmingly high and increasing murder rates. Is more federal regulation helping?
Los Angeles has been under federal review for over a year, equal to the amount of time their murder rate has been climbing steadily.
Violent crime is not only getting worse, but its worst form, murder, is becoming a normalcy in major cities throughout the country. While Clinton hails the success of local police, she also seems to be choking them of their ability to serve their own people. Once again Clinton thinks Washington bureaucrats can lead the American people better than the individuals in their own community, this time better than the individuals who took an oath to protect their own neighbors.
Natalia Castro is a contributing editor at Americans for Limited Government.
