White House needs to listen as US voters are worried about crime: Washington Post columnist

LOS ANGELES - The White House needs to listen as US voters are worried about crime, said a columnist of The Washington Post.

"At some point, the White House and Democrats in Congress should respond with major legislation with some rhetorical muscle behind it to address crime," said Jennifer Rubin, an opinion columnist, in an article published on the newspaper's website on Monday.

According to a recent Gallup poll cited by Rubin, Americans' concern about crime and violence in the United States has edged up in the past year, and for the first time since 2016, a majority (53 percent) say they personally worry a "great deal" about crime.

The poll quoted by the article also found that another 27 percent report they worry a "fair amount," which places the issue near the top of the list of 14 national concerns - behind only inflation and the economy, and on par with hunger and homelessness.

"While overall crime has not reached levels seen in the 1980s and 1990s, the homicide rate has been increasing in recent years. Whatever the relative crime rate, voters see the current rate as unacceptable," said the article, noting that the country is still incapable of passing national gun-safety laws.

Democrats would be well advised to focus on the substantial increase in spending to fight crime, in US President Joe Biden's budget request. Biden can use his bully pulpit to advance the issue, either by convening a White House summit on crime or announcing new efforts to focus on violent crime in particular, according to the article.

Democrats would do well to make clear their crime-fighting commitment before this becomes a major liability in the midterms, it added.