On Thursday’s broadcast of NewsNation’s “On Balance,” Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA) stated that “I don’t agree with Democrats who say, oh, crime’s not a problem, we shouldn’t pay attention to it, we should. And we need to do a better job on it.” And while there are Republican-run cities that have crime issues, “I’ve been working out here in Seattle, Washington and elsewhere to make some changes in the policy for greater accountability, greater personal responsibility. Mistakes were made, and I think we ought to acknowledge those.” And he would like to see more police.
Smith said, “First of all, Oklahoma City, a Republican-run city, has a higher violent crime rate than Washington, D.C. There are at least a dozen Republican-run cities that also are struggling with crime. … Second of all, yes, we need to do more about crime. Now, I will fully say I’ve been working out here in Seattle, Washington and elsewhere to make some changes in the policy for greater accountability, greater personal responsibility. Mistakes were made, and I think we ought to acknowledge those. The thing about Trump, though, is, they’re setting up checkpoints in Washington, D.C., do Americans want that in their cities?”
He also asked if people want the military in cities doing law enforcement and stated, “I would love to see more police. I would love to see a lot more people enforcing the law.”
Smith concluded, “We need to do a better job at dealing with crime in cities across this country. I have said that. And I don’t agree with Democrats who say, oh, crime’s not a problem, we shouldn’t pay attention to it, we should. And we need to do a better job on it.”
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