FBI Director Christopher Wray was on CBS’s Sixty Minutes on Sunday night, where he shared his thoughts on the rising violent crime rate and the growing problem of criminals targeting police officers.
“Violence against law enforcement in this country is one of the biggest phenomena that I think doesn’t get enough attention,” Wray said, claiming that officers are being murdered at a rate of one every three days.
Murders of police officers rose 59% in 2021 while the total murder rate rose 29%. Seventy-three police officers were killed in the line of duty last year.
“Some of it is tied to the violent crime problem as a whole. But one of the phenomena that we saw in the last year is that an alarming percentage of the 73 law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty last year were killed through things like being ambushed or shot while out on patrol. … Wearing the badge shouldn’t make you a target,” he continued.
The National Fraternal Order of Police announced earlier in April that shootings of police officers had spiked 43% so far in 2022. The police union said 101 police officers had been shot in 2022 alone as of April 1.
National Fraternal Order of Police President Patrick Yoes said in a statement, “We are in the midst of a real crisis. The violence directed at law enforcement officers is unlike anything I’ve seen in my 36 years of law enforcement.”
“Last year was one of the most dangerous years for law enforcement, with more officers shot in the line of duty since the National Fraternal Order of Police began recording this data,” Yoes added.
Related: Experts Say the ‘Defund the Police’ Movement Led to a Massive Spike in Black Murders
The number of police being shot surged in 2021, far outpacing the general escalation in violent crime.
“We’re seeing more and more juveniles committing violent crime, and that’s certainly an issue. We’re seeing a certain amount of gun trafficking, interstate gun trafficking. That’s part of it. And we’re seeing an alarming frequency of some of the worst of the worst getting back out on the streets,” Wray said.
“Getting back out on the streets” is a national trend caused by George Soros-backed district attorneys and prosecutors, who not only allow criminals to walk after committing a crime due to low bail or no bail policies but also decriminalize dozens of offenses.
Add to that mix the lack of enforcement for some crimes by police officers who fear the revenge of the mob for doing their job, and an atmosphere that makes cops targets becomes more than a possibility.
In the end, this is a local political problem aided and abetted by prosecutors who believe the death of a few police officers is the price we must pay for a more “just” system.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member