ABOUT THE ‘DEFUND THE POLICE’ PROBLEM

Misguided calls from the left to “defund” the police threaten to put Democrats in the position of the Nixon era, when they were successfully painted as soft on crime. The party should respond with a national crime bill that lays out in detail a pragmatic approach that is both forward-looking in addressing the root causes of crime but also aggressively protects victims in the hereand-now.

Crime rates in general haven’t risen markedly, but homicide rates across America have skyrocketed. …

The criminal justice reform movement ascendant on the left is right about a lot: It’s right to view crime as a societal ill with societal causes, most prominently, poverty. It’s no coincidence — now in America, or throughout the history of civilization everywhere — that violent crime is worst in areas where poverty is most acute. …

A rational approach to crime shouldn’t spend less money addressing it; it should spend more: Yes, more on social and jobs programs, education and outreach, counseling for at-risk youth and violence interrupters. But also more on policing, on modern training techniques, body cameras and other technology — and on additional warm bodies patrolling the streets, which has consistently been shown to be the single most effective way to prevent crime in the moment.

Nixon’s success at demonizing Democrats on crime didn’t lead to safer streets. Now, as then, Republicans aren’t coming to the table with real ideas on crime, just tired old tough talk. Democrats can and should offer more — and they shouldn’t let their party be defined by those on the far left whose approach, however well-intentioned, would most victimize those they claim to care most about.

St. Louis Post-Dispatch Editorial Board