President Obama on Monday said more government spending would help curb the pervasive hopelessness found in some inner cities in the U.S, and said that hopelessness is a major factor in recent flashes of racial unrest.
The president traveled to Camden, N.J., on Monday in an effort to showcase reforms that city’s police department has made to improve relations with its community. But he said expanding opportunities for young people in impoverished areas of the country would take more than just policing reforms.
“A lot of the issues that have been raised here go beyond policing…we can’t ask the police to contain and control problems that the rest of us aren’t willing to face or do anything about,” he said.
“The kids who grow up here are part of America, just like our kids are,” he said. “If we are not investing in them, no matter how good the police are doing, these kids are going to still be challenged, so we’ve all got to step up.”
The president mentioned more funds for early childhood education, the creation of “promise zones” and his creation of the “My Brother’s Keeper” program, which Obama started to help create more opportunities for young minority men and boys. He also called for more federal grants for cities to help improve educational opportunities, boost public health and reduce crime.
The comments were Obama’s latest effort to respond to a series of incidents, including the shooting by police of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo., last summer, and more recently, the death of Freddie Gray in Baltimore, which spurred violent rioting and destruction earlier this month.
Obama’s comments match those of other Democrats who have said poverty is an underlying problem that has contributed to the violence and unrest seen in some U.S. cities over the last several months. After the rioting in Baltimore, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said Congress needs to take the lead role by passing bills that create jobs.
“It is up to us in this Capitol to create these jobs,” he said.
Obama said Monday that criminal justice reforms, such as reduced sentences for non-violent drug offenses, would also help keep more able-bodied men in these communities and out of jail.
The state and federal governments, he argued, are spending too much money on incarcerating men for non-violent drug crimes, and are not spending enough on education.
“We are being counter-productive. It’s not a good strategy,” Obama said.
Earlier Wednesday, Obama announced he would ban some federal transfers of military-style gear to local police departments in response to the string of violent clashes between police and communities in an effort to rebuild trust. Many congressional Democrats support legislation to keep what they say are weapons of war out of the hands of police.
Before making remarks, Obama toured the Camden police headquarters’ Real Time Tactical Operational Intelligence Center, a room lined with screens of surveillance cameras.
Camden County Police Chief Scott Thomson explained the force’s efforts to improve relations with the community, describing how officers are knocking on doors to increase the dialogue with residents.
Thomson explained that the surveillance cameras help police identify problems before they occur, and allow officers to quickly examine these problem areas.
“If you see some trouble brewing or a congregation of folks who look like they might intimidate kids, you can have an officer walk by?” Obama asked.
Thomson confirmed the president’s assessment. The goal, he said, is to “address things before they become a problem.”
