During a recent Zoom video, Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez briefly addressed the “uptick” in criminal activity in New York City.
New York City has seen an overall spike in burglaries and murders in 2020, and soon after the NYPD disbanded its anti-crime unit on June 15, shootings in the city have soared.
Some analysts have blamed the rise in New York City’s crime on the ongoing push to dismantle police on top of mayor Bill de Blasio’s $1 billion cut in funding to the NYPD.
Rep. Ocasio-Cortez, however, provided a much different explanation in her video.
“So why is this uptick in crime happening?” AOC asked. “Well do we think this has to do with the fact that there’s record unemployment in the United States right now? The fact that people are at a level of economic desperation that we haven’t seen since the Great Recession.”
“Maybe this has to do with the fact that people aren’t paying their rent and are scared to pay their rent and so they go out and they need to feed their child and they don’t have money, so you maybe have to — they’re put in a position where they feel like they either need to shoplift some bread or go hungry that night.” Video Below
WATCH:
AOC on increased NYC crime: "Maybe this has to do with the fact that people aren't paying their rent & are scared to pay their rent & so they go out & they need to feed their child & they don't have money so… they feel like they either need to shoplift some bread or go hungry." pic.twitter.com/oHSTWWJZ6a
— The Hill (@thehill) July 12, 2020
