Biden Aims To Forster Police Departments As Homicides Rise

President Biden says that states could now draw from $350 billion in federal stimulus money to shore up police departments. This was accompanied by a vow to crack down on gun dealers who fail to run background checks, as the White House seeks to combat the alarming rise in homicide rates in American cities.

Biden’s speech made it clear that he intends to approach crime prevention by investing in, rather than defunding the police — wading into a national debate about whether the government should give police departments more resources, or spend the money on mental health and other social services instead.

Under his new plan, state and local governments will be allowed to use their designated $350 billion of coronavirus relief funds for programs such as hiring police officers, paying overtime for community policing work and supporting community-based anti-violence groups. Governments of cities dealing with high crime rates will be able to go even further, hiring even more officers than they had before.

The funds can also be used for summer jobs for young people and organizations that aim to intervene with at-risk youths before they commit violence, a nod to criminal justice advocates who have called for political leaders to address the societal factors that drive crime.

Biden’s speech was aimed at blunting criticism from the republican party who accuse him of being soft on crime while using it to bridge the two flanks of his party: centrist Democrats alarmed by the spike in crime in cities and progressives who are pushing to defund police departments that have long been accused of racial discrimination amongst other systemic changes

Mr. Biden also said he was directing the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to revoke the licenses of gun dealers “the first time that they violate federal law” by failing to run background checks.

Previously, sellers often received repeated warnings before their licenses were pulled. And in some cases, the ATF has been accused of overruling recommendations by their own inspectors and allowing sellers to keep their licenses.

Mr. Biden used the moment to call for Congress to pass legislative measures that would close background check loopholes, restrict assault weapons and repeal gun manufacturers’ immunity from lawsuits.

“Folks, this shouldn’t be a red or blue issue,” Mr. Biden said. “It’s an American issue. We’re not changing the Constitution; we’re enforcing it.”

In a move to appeal to both sides on Wednesday, he said “this is not a time to turn our backs on law enforcement or our communities.”