President Joe Biden will play host to a number of local government officials at the White House Monday afternoon to discuss his strategy to combat gun violence and crime, which directs local municipalities to shift pandemic aid funding to violence prevention programs.
Ahead of the meeting, the Washington Examiner obtained an internal White House memo, written by Domestic Policy Council Director Susan Rice, Office of Intergovernmental Affairs Director Julie Rodriguez, and senior adviser to the president Gene Sperling, outlining how some communities have begun redirecting American Rescue Plan funding at the president’s request.
DEMOCRATS FACING ELECTORAL JITTERS OVER RISING VIOLENT CRIME
“We’ve seen state and local governments utilize the funding they’ve received to put more cops on the beat, invest in community violence intervention programs, bolster community programs and economic opportunities, and acquire technology like gunshot detection systems that will help them better confront crime head-on,” the memo reads. “We know that the rise in violent crime over the last 18 months is a complex and multi-dimensional challenge for communities around the country, and that it requires a comprehensive response.”
The White House highlighted action nine cities have taken in line with the president’s strategy:
- Utica, New York, plans to support “gun violence prevention and law enforcement career recruiting efforts.”
- Walla Walla, Washington, will “fund new police hires.”
- Tucson, Arizona, “plan[s] to invest at least $7 million in community safety, health and wellness, and violence interruption programs.”
- Cincinnati, Ohio, is using Rescue Plan funds to increase its policing and emergency services budget.
- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is spending “$1.3 million to expand proven violence interruption programs” and “$2 million for a Transitional Jobs Program to address a root cause of violence, lack of job opportunities.”
- Albuquerque, New Mexico, is investing “$3 million to expand a gunshot detection system, $5 million to refurbish station houses, $1 million for new cars and $450,000 to recruit more officers.”
- Watertown, New York, will use some of its Rescue Plan funds “to reinstate four police officers and two other city staff positions.”
- Kansas City, Missouri, seeks to “restore police departments to pre-pandemic levels.”
- Syracuse, New York, will invest in an “enhancement of the police department’s ShotSpotter system, which helps locate gunfire; a collaboration with mental health providers to assist with mental health-related police calls; [and] increased police transparency.”
The White House also noted that Biden’s budget request for fiscal 2022 seeks more than a $1 billion increase in Justice Department grants for local law enforcement agencies, including $300 million for the Community Oriented Policing Services hiring program.
“The President also has already taken steps to strengthen regulations to keep guns out of the wrong hands — including by cracking down on ghost guns, homemade firearms that often cannot be traced by law enforcement due to the lack of a serial number and that are increasingly being used in crimes,” the memo adds. “He also continues to push Congress to take long-overdue action to prevent guns from being used in crimes, including strengthening background checks, renewing the ban on assault weapons and high capacity magazines, and ending immunity for gun manufacturers.”
Democrats have had a forced reckoning with rising violent crime in recent months, perhaps best exemplified by Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams’s Democratic primary victory ahead of New York City’s mayoral election this fall.
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Adams, a retired New York City Police captain, will join representatives from Chicago, Illinois, Memphis, Tennessee, Newark, New Jersey, New York, San Jose, California, and Washington, D.C., at Biden’s Monday meeting at the White House.
