President Biden Has Invested More in Crime Control and Prevention Than Any President in U.S. History

     In 2020 and 2021, violent crime rose due to the increased levels of poverty and general insecurity created by the COVID-19 pandemic. The overall crime rate actually declined very slightly each of those years, with the rise in violent crime being offset by the decrease in nonviolent crimes like property and drug offenses. The overall crime rate has been declining consistently since the mid-1990s, and violent crime has risen slightly several of these years but each time was offset by the rapid decline in nonviolent offenses, which fell by 50 percent compared to the 25 percent fall in violent crime during this time. It appears, at least so far, that violent crime will decrease again this year, with nearly all jobs recovered from the COVID pandemic and more than 80 percent of Americans at least partially vaccinated against the virus.

     Still, in response to this increase in violent crime, President Biden has made, in less than 18 months, the largest investment in crime control and prevention in U.S. history. The largest investment before President Biden was made by President Clinton, with his $15.8 billion Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act, championed and partially written by then-Senator Biden, still remaining the largest overhaul to America's criminal justice system in history. In terms of finances strictly, however, this bill was worth around $31.1 billion in today's money with inflation factored in.

     As I previously mentioned, the American Rescue Plan Act, which every Republican in Congress voted against, is now on track to be the largest nominal investment in crime control and prevention in U.S. history. $3.5 billion was given to federal law enforcement agencies, another $6.5 billion was set aside for use by state and local law enforcement, and yet another $6.5 billion is on track to be used by state and local law enforcement as part of the funding that was given to help state and local governments prevent budget shortages. This sets the total law enforcement funding provided by the American Rescue Plan at $16.5 billion.

     The 2022 Omnibus Appropriations Act was historic for a number of reasons, from the significant support for Ukraine to the launch of the ARPA-H agency to fight diseases like cancer. Perhaps my favorite part of the bill was the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act, which reauthorized and reformed Biden's Violence Against Women Act with $1 billion in new funding. The bill also provided $125 million in new funding for the COPS Office, part of President Biden's promise to deliver an extra $300 million to this agency dedicated to community policing. In his 2023 budget and beyond, President Biden has proposed keeping and going beyond his $300 million promise.

     Now, there's the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, which provides $15 billion to combat gun trafficking and other violent gun crimes while tightening regulations to prevent guns from falling into the wrong hands. The ambitious 2023 Omnibus Appropriations Act, which I am doubling down on promoting over the next few weeks, includes billions more. All told, the United States has seen an increase of nearly $33 billion in funding for crime control and prevention in less than 18 months. I am going to make it a mission to secure an increase of $50 billion total by 2025, which would far surpass President Clinton to represent the largest investments in our criminal justice system in U.S. history.