The WØRD – “Crime” – Party on the Peninsulas

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From Chairperson Lavora Barnes

To listen to Republicans, we’re in the middle of an apocalyptic crime wave. The reality: the crime rates have dropped dramatically since they peaked in 2020 during the Trump administration.

In his “Popular Information” newsletter, investigative journalist Judd Legum reports: ‘In a speech earlier this year at the Conservative Political Action Conference, Trump said that under Biden, the United States is “plagued by bloodshed, chaos and violent crime.” A March press release by the Republican National Committee claimed that “crime [is] spiking” as a result of Biden’s policies. Trump’s claims are being repeated by other Republicans running for office.’

It’s all another Big Lie, ironically being promoted by a convicted criminal.

New data released this last week by the FBI reveals that both violent crime and property crime have dropped dramatically this year. The data compares crime in the first quarter of 2024 with crime in the first quarter of 2023. It shows substantial drops in every category, including murder ( down 26.4%), rape (down 25.7%), robbery (down 17.8%), and property crime (down 15.1%). The only crime rate going up: indictments and convictions of the leaders of efforts to overturn the 2020 election, including indictments of Trump and multiple members of his reelection team.

President Biden is working to continue cutting into violent crime through enactment of common-sense gun laws that make it tougher on criminals without taking away the 2nd amendment rights of law-abiding citizens. At a Washington conference hosted by Everytown for Gun Safety Action Fund on Tuesday, the President listed gun-related accomplishments during his administration, prompting huge cheers from the hundreds in the audience. He also called for a ban on assault-style weapons and universal background checks for firearms purchases.

This comes even as the Trump-appointed majority on the Supreme Court votes to end the ban on bump stocks, which are used to turn semi automatic weapons into fully automatic machine guns. A bump stock was used in the most devastating mass shooting in US history, the 2017 shooting in Las Vegas where 60 died and more than 400 were wounded.

Another word of the week: ethics. Republicans in the U.S. Senate have blocked legislation which would create ethics rules for the Supreme Court. The vote came on the same day when three more high-price trips by Justice Clarence Thomas, paid for by a billionaire GOP donor, were revealed by Pro Publica. Thomas’s known ledger of free trips and vacations now totals more than Four-Million-Dollars, roughly equal to his salary over the same time period. Thomas is by far the most ethically corrupt justice in the court’s recent history.

In Michigan, it’s a different story. Momentum is on the side of higher ethical standards in the wake of a series of scandals involving former Republican legislative leaders.

A part of that progress: Attorney General Dana Nessel has affirmed Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson’s tough enforcement of financial disclosures by public officials and political candidates. The opinion upholds rules that state elected officials must offer details of outside income and that must include names and addresses of the source. Nessel and Benson are the drive for even tougher financial disclosure and ethics laws.

Democrats in the Legislature are also working with Governor Whitmer to fine-tune Michigan’s economic development efforts involving what’s known as the SOAR Fund. Strategic Outreach and Attraction Reserve fund has allocated $3 billion toward big projects since it was formed in late 2021. The fund puts Michigan on a level playing field with other states in the region competing for job-creating business investments. Representative Jason Hoskins is leading the efforts to update the program. He is serving his first term in the 18th House District, which comprises Southfield, Lathrup Village and parts of Farmington, Farmington Hills and Oak Park. He graduated from Eastern Michigan University with his bachelor’s degree in political science and his master’s in public administration, with a concentration in local government management and received his law degree from the University of Detroit Mercy (UDM) School of Law. Rep. Hoskins helped create and later served as president of the UDM Law chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).

Prior to his time in office, Rep. Hoskins served on the Southfield City Council.

His legislative priorities include boosting the economy, supporting education, investing in our communities, ending gun violence, safeguarding our elections, protecting the environment, fighting for justice, and improving access to and affordability of health care.

The WØRD – “Crime”

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