Rep. Demings Comments on Biden Anti-Crime Plan

Washington, D.C.: Today Rep. Val Demings (FL-10) commented on the release of President Biden’s new plan to reduce violent crime.

Said Rep. Demings, “Nothing is more important than the safety and security of our communities, and I strongly support decisive efforts to reduce violent crime in our neighborhoods. As a Chief of Police, we focused intently on violent crime, using targeted resources, violence prevention strategies, and community engagement to successfully reduce violent crime by over 40%.

“Our legislation, the American Rescue Plan, will be funding vital new community violence prevention. Lawbreakers must be held accountable, but we cannot simply react to crime, trying to arrest our way out of this problem. We must be proactive and take necessary action to stop crime from occurring in the first place. We must ensure that law enforcement has the critical resources needed to fight crime, keep communities safe and keep our officers safe. At the same time, we must address the social ills that plague communities.

“Our plan does this, and despite every Republican voting against this critical funding, I believe that supporting our local police and investing in jobs and opportunity will have a real impact to reduce crime and keep us safe. As a former police chief, I know this approach can work because I have seen it work.”