WH says local leaders need to do more to address crime, administration to help

During the White House briefing on Thursday, press secretary Jen Psaki said local leaders need to do more to address crime, and that the Biden administration will help support them through funding.

Video Transcript

- Ahead of the president's meeting with the mayors conference--

JEN PSAKI: Mhm.

- --tomorrow, some of the biggest headlines this week have been the New York City woman being pushed to her death in a subway, the woman in LA being murdered, allegedly, by a career criminal. I saw this morning that you went on TV and reiterated the president's--

JEN PSAKI: On Fox.

- Yes, on Fox. Thank you for joining us. That he wants to fund police and make clear that crime is something that this White House takes seriously, but you guys have not weighed in on the actions from these prosecutors. So why hasn't the administration weighed in on some of these new policies from DAs who are downgrading certain crimes or refusing to prosecute certain crimes given that it could undermine some of these broader efforts that your White House is making to show that it takes crime seriously?

JEN PSAKI: Well, one, there is a law enforcement component and a justice component of the federal government, right? The president has been crystal clear, I think, in almost every time he's spoken about this that he believes that more needs to be done by local leaders. We're going to support funding to ensure they have that, whether it's local cops programs or other programs to support surge response teams, as we're seeing different kinds of crime in different parts of the country. And that will continue to be what he advocates for, but I wouldn't expect he's going to comment on or engage in every local law enforcement action.