Biden urges local leaders to boost safety spending

Flanked by law enforcement officials and local leaders in the Rose Garden, President Joe Biden said Friday his administration's $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package is boosting public safety by investing in police departments.

Biden said more money should be spent on public safety before the summer months, which typically bring a spike in violent crime. FBI records released last September suggest that Biden inherited a violent crime problem.

In 2020, the year before he took office, homicides rose nearly 30% over the previous year, the largest one-year jump documented by the FBI. There were 21,570 killings, the highest since the early 1990s when homicides stayed above 23,000 a year.