WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 22nd January, 2022) Us President Joe Biden said on Friday that he supports increasing funding of police departments.
"We shouldn't be cutting funding for police departments, I propose increasing funding," Biden said during the US Conference of Mayors' Winter Meeting. "We ask cops to do everything - including psychologists and social workers. Guess what? They need psychologists and social workers."
The US Department of Justice said at the end of December that it is providing $1.6 billion in grants to communities throughout the United Stats to fund programs designed to reduce crime.
Some of the funding is intended to address gun violence, to help former inmates transition back to the communities and keep them from recommitting a crime, and to support responses to crises like drug overdoses and mental illness, the release said.
The funding could also help support US law enforcement efforts to advance violence intervention activities and evidence-based police and prosecution strategies, the release added.
The FBI reported recently that murder rates in the United States increased by nearly 30% in 2020 amid the "defund the police" movement that took flight among US liberals after the death of African-American George Floyd in police custody.
A Pew Research Center poll showed in October that growing numbers of US adults want their communities to spend more on police, a significant shift in attitudes that reflects Americans' concern about rising violent crime.
The share of Black adults who say police spending in their area should be decreased has fallen 19 percentage points (from 42% to 23%), while the share of Democrats wanting cuts in police budgets has dropped from 41 percent to 25 percent, according to the release.
