Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) suggested in a podcast appearance that law enforcement’s purpose is to solve, not prevent, crime.
Police departments, including Crockett’s local Dallas Police Department, often devote resources to crime prevention. The DPD’s mission statement says it provides “preventive” services and “strives to reduce crime.”
Crockett emphasized law enforcement’s role in solving crime rather than stopping it.
“I want to be clear that law enforcement isn’t to prevent crime. Law enforcement solves crime, OK? That is what they are supposed to do. They are supposed to solve crimes, not necessarily prevent them from happening per se,” she said on the Grounded podcast last week.
She drew criticism for her comment, including from conservative commentator and Los Angeles Police Department consultant Deon Joseph.
“As a police officer, I did not sign up to be an after-the-fact entity in the lives of people I serve,” he said in response to her. “I did sign up to prevent people from dying.”
He said he’d rather be “visible” and prevent crime.
The Glendale, Arizona, Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 12 also slammed her for the comments, pointing out that she’s asked for personal protection before. “Apparently, Jasmine Crockett doesn’t believe a uniformed presence prevents crime…unless they are providing her with personal protection. SMH,” they wrote on X.
Later in the podcast, Crockett slammed Trump’s deployment of the National Guard in Washington, D.C., and said the administration is “hostile” toward its own people.
“I think it has been terrible,” Crockett said. “How is it that we have a government that is hostile towards its people? Because that’s what it is. I mean, we are in the midst of a hostile government takeover, and it is our government that is bringing the hostility,” she added.
MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE SAYS JASMINE CROCKETT MISTREATS STAFF AMID RUMORS
She said that the federal law enforcement agencies and the National Guard are being improperly used before going into her comment about crime prevention.
The Texas congresswoman is one of the most visible politicians in the House and is known for her inflammatory language. She’s reportedly weighing her options for a statewide run in Texas.
