Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass appeared on CNN recently, addressing the topic of deploying the military to address crime in Washington, DC. During her appearance, Bass stated that crime in Los Angeles is down.
“You don’t deploy the armed forces because of people’s feelings. That is just inappropriate. If the statistics say that crime is down, then why would you do that because people feel afraid? Now, I deal with that all the time and I try to address people’s feelings. I don’t think you just shove statistics in folks, but you do do other things to make them feel safe. You don’t use the military to help people feel better,” Bass said during her interview.
Bass also posted a video clip from her appearance on social media, repeating her stance: “You don’t deploy the armed forces because of people’s feelings. The military is not a tool to make people feel better.”
Actress and filmmaker Justine Bateman responded publicly on Twitter/X, challenging Bass’s claim about declining crime rates. “@MayorOfLA, crime in LA is not down. Almost everyone I know has had their houses broken into in the last 2 years. The police tell us there aren’t enough @LAPD officers to attend to calls that aren’t life-threatening,” Bateman wrote.
Bateman further criticized city leadership: “You do not have control of this town. We wish the time you spend on TV, defending people who are here illegally, was instead spent working for this town and its citizens.” She called for more funding for public safety agencies and improvements in local rebuilding efforts.
Social media users also weighed in on the discussion regarding public safety and political claims about crime statistics in Los Angeles.
