PHILADELPHIA, Aug. 7 (UPI) -- Dozens of U.S. mayors and police chiefs have urged the U.S. government to focus on fighting city crime and its "domestic terrorists."
Meeting in Philadelphia, the officials said efforts that had driven down urban crime dissipated after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and consequently, street criminals are again on the increase, The Washington Post reported.
The U.S. Conference of Mayors convened to discuss a crime-fighting blueprint to present to the next president.
In an accompanying report, the group said about half of 124 cities surveyed largely blame deteriorating economic conditions for the rise in crime.
Sen. Joseph Biden, D-Del., seen as a possible running mate for Sen. Barack Obama, the presumed Democratic Party presidential nominee, told the gathering that he is determined to ensure that attention is concentrated on crime.
Biden said it was no longer a local issue.
Miami Mayor Manny Diaz, the mayors' conference president, said that despite the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, it was time to also address what is happening in "our back yard."
