The May 2020 killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis at the hands of a police officer set off a wave of Black Lives Matter protests across the US and drew impassioned calls to “defund the police” from progressive activists. In the aftermath of Floyd’s death, Democrats – including the then presidential candidate Joe Biden – campaigned on promises of police reform. But nearly two years later, with crime rates on the rise across America, Democrats are now revising their message, Lauren Gambino tells Michael Safi.
Gun violence and homicides rose sharply in the US in 2020 and 2021, with Black and Latino communities hit the hardest. Though crime figures are still far lower than they were in the early 1990s, the jump from 2019 to 2020 represented the largest single-year surge in homicides in modern history, according to the CDC. According to a recent Gallup poll, only 24% of Americans said they were satisfied with efforts to reduce or control crime – a new low.
On a recent visit to New York, President Biden tried to strike a balance between competing messages. He forcefully asserted his support for law enforcement, clearly distancing himself from the “defund the police” movement. At the same time, he sought to convey a message that he was listening to – and even learning from – the communities of colour most affected by rising crime. Meanwhile, Republicans are determined to make the issue of crime a focus of the 2022 midterms.
Photograph: Alex Brandon/AP
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