Iowa Sen. Grassley calls for supporting police amid rising violent crime

WASHINGTON, D.C. (KCRG) - Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley called for support for law enforcement amid rising violent crimes across the country during a press conference on Wednesday.

He believes the law enforcement worker shortage comes from lack of support.

“I hear from Iowans all the time about the difficulty of recruiting people to be on the police forces – even in our good state of Iowa. What do you think you get when you talk for months and months about defunding police? You demoralize the police,” Grassley said.

Democratic House members say public safety is critically important.

“Public safety is the foundation on which we build great communities,” Florida Democratic Rep. Val Demings said. “No great society can exist without public safety.”

Sen. Grassley also called the Biden administration “out of touch” for its response to the rising crime.

“Violent crime has increased for two years with no signs of slowing. The administration’s plan to fix the violent crime spike … won’t seriously reduce violent crime. It focuses on issues that make up only a tiny fraction of violent crime or don’t contribute to it at all,” Grassley said.

Earlier this month, Grassley called for a reversal of what he called anti-law enforcement policies.

“The crime spike began in June 2020 when blue cities nationwide pulled the police off their streets,” Grassley wrote. “Progressive prosecutors stopped prosecuting. And these blue cities started bail reform policies that released violent criminals. No police on the streets, but lots of criminals. It’s no surprise that crime has risen.”

Grassley’s comments come after several high-profile shootings in recent weeks, some of which were inside or outside of school buildings.

A school bus driver was shot with three students on board in Minneapolis on Wednesday.

In Buffalo, New York, someone shot two others in a school parking lot.

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