Washington News Bureau

President Trump plans to deal with spike in crimes in major U.S. cities

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said he plans to deal with an increase in crime in some major cities. While a surge in crime in the summer is not unusual, some city leaders said it is more than normal.

Cities like Charlotte, Memphis, Boston, Atlanta and Jacksonville are seeing certain violent crimes increase.

“There’s a lot of things going on. There’s a perfect storm if you will,” one NYPD leader said.

Leaders said the usual summer spike in shootings is coupled with the pandemic and social unrest in the country.

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“We have to go even further I think not only as a community but also as a state to prevent these weapons from getting in the hands of the wrong people,” Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney said.

Some leaders, including Stoney, are calling for stricter gun measures. The president disagrees and wants the federal government to step in.

“We can’t have what’s happening,” Trump said.

Jim Burch, with the National Police Foundation, said this only adds to the need for better understanding of how police can be better.

“We’ve made a little progress in recent years. We need to double, if not triple, funding research around effective policing and community engagement,” Burch said.