By Ziyuan Jasmine Cen
Obama was in his hometown to speak to thousands of law enforcement executives and chiefs of police. He stressed on three steps to lower the crime rate and make the United States a safer place.
Obama highlighted some of the statistics during his speech. He said the violent crime rate is historically lower in the United States. Since 1887, the number of police officers shot and killed in the line of duty has fallen to the lowest in 2013. He also mentioned Chicago’s homicide spiked.
According to the FBI, more than 7 in 10 murders in the Midwest involved firearms in 2013. It was the highest among four regions in the United States. With a total of 706 murders and voluntary manslaughter, more than 500 of the cases involved firearms.
“It is going to be very difficult because it is a group of people who really don’t get it. And they just want to oppose something because the president forced something. It is just odd and just pure hate,” said Leonard E. McGee, Beat 211 Facilitator.
Besides the resources to police, criminal system reform and tougher gun laws, Obama also said, “we’ve still got work to do to restore trust between law enforcement and the citizens they protect and serve.”
Additional reporting by Emiliana Molina and Mike Bacos
