As Rapes, Robberies, Homicides Surge in Democrat-Led Cities, Biden Says Now Is the Time to Fund the Police

President Biden is making a pivot. With crime spiking in many U.S. cities, the leader of the party that called to "Defund the Police" is now calling for more funding for police officers in his new "Safer America Plan".

During a speech in Wilkes-Barre, PA on Tuesday, Biden pushed for a new crime prevention plan. "It's based on a simple notion," he said. "When it comes to public safety and in this nation, the answer is not 'defund the police', it's fund the police."

The $37 billion plan seeks to increase the number of police officers, crackdown on violent crime, and invest in services that address root causes of crime. 

In recent years, progressive Democrats have been calling to defund police departments. Cities that have embraced the idea have seen a dramatic spike in crime.

"It's been disastrous," said Zack Smith, a fellow at The Heritage Foundation. "Everything from petty theft to violent crimes, rapes robberies, homicides."

According to a report by WalletHub, since 2020, homicide rates have been going up across the country, jumping nearly 20 percent in 50 of the most populated U.S. cities. 

"All the people in these big cities, where crime has just gone crazy, they know these liberal policies are not producing good results," said Mark Meadows, former chief of staff for President Donald Trump.

Meadows says Biden's plan is more rhetoric than action.

"If he was all about law enforcement in this last bill that he just signed into law, he would have funded 87,000 police officers instead of 87,000 IRS agents. It's all about changing the narrative before an election," Meadows said.

Crime is an issue in the 2022 Midterms, and many don't trust Democrats to solve the problem. An ABC/Washington Post poll in May showed Americans trusted the Republican Party over Democrats to handle crime by 12 percentage points.

Smith points to a "soft on crime" approach by liberal prosecutors as part of the problem.

"Story after story after story of repeat violent offenders who have been released without bail, who have been released without serving their full sentence, and are essentially released and back onto the streets to further victimize our communities," Smith explained.

Biden is now trying to turn the tables by calling out members of the GOP who refuse to condemn the Jan. 6 attack at the U.S. Capitol as well as some calling to defund the FBI after the raid on Trump's home in Mar-a-Lago.

"Don't tell me you support law enforcement if you won't condemn what happened on the sixth," Biden said. "It's sickening to see the new attacks on the FBI, threatening the life of law enforcement agents and their families for simply carrying out the law and doing their job."

Meanwhile, Biden is also seeking to ban assault rifles in light of ongoing mass shootings. According to the Gun Violence Archive, there have been 450 mass shooting in the U.S. this year.