In Flint, Michigan, Joe Biden explains how rapes and murders will go up if the jobs bill isn’t passed.
Vice President Biden suggested Wednesday that rapes and murders in at least one American city could rise if Congress does not pass a new spending bill to help local governments keep police jobs.
The vice president discussed the relation between crime and police staffing during a stop in Flint, Mich., one of the most violent cities in America. Biden said anyone who doubts the correlation “need look no further than your city.”
“Let’s look at the facts,” Biden said. “In 2008, when Flint had 265 sworn officers on their police force, there were 35 murders and 91 rapes in this city. In 2010, when Flint had only 144 police officers, the murder rate climbed to 65 and rapes, just to pick two categories, climbed to 229.
“In 2011, you now only have 125 shields. God only knows what the numbers’ll be this year for Flint if we don’t rectify it,” he said.
Biden made the comments as part of an effort to talk up the Obama administration’s $447 billion American Jobs Act, which stalled in the Senate Tuesday night. The package includes $5 billion for police and first responders.
What I find amazing about this, is that Biden had the numbers ready. That means this is no gaffe, but this is a staff-prepared talking point. Unless of course you think Joe Biden just happened to have the crimes stats for Flint at his fingertips for totally unrelated reasons.
Update: There’s video!
