WASHINGTON, June 5 (UPI) -- A new report from the FBI found that violent crime is up, prompting a U.S. senator to say the figures should be a "wake-up call" to the current administration.
Sen. Joseph Biden, D-Del., said that the FBI report detailing a nationwide increase in violent crime should motivate President Bush to renew funding for community policing.
"For years we drove down the crime rates -- but now we're in reverse gear. And it's no coincidence that it's happened during the same time period which the administration has all but eliminated the (Community Oriented Policing Services) program, slashed state and local law enforcement programs by billions and cut completely the COPS hiring program," Biden said in a statement on Monday.
The FBI report released on the same day found that violent crime, which includes murder, rape, robbery, and assault, increased by 1.3 percent in 2006. The statistics reflect data collected from more than 11,700 law enforcement agencies across the country.
Biden called for renewed funding for the COPS program in particular, crediting the program with helping to drive down violent crime when it hit a peak in the early 1990s. Biden authored the original legislation proposing the COPS program in 1994.
President Bush has significantly scaled back the COPS program since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, channeling more funding to counter-terrorism initiatives.
"The federal government has taken its focus off street crime since 9/11, asking law enforcement to do more with less. ... Fewer police on the street preventing crime and protecting communities means more crime -- it's as simple as that," Biden said at a hearing on May 23 to address the federal role in community law enforcement.
The FBI noted that the increase in violent crime, however, is less than the 2.3 percent figure reported for 2005 and the 3.7 percent increase reflected in the preliminary six-month report for 2006 released in December.
