Miami Mayor Francis X. Suarez said bail reform is a “failed policy” during a speech at the White House on Monday.
“We also need to act on public safety. We, from the federal government to the local government, need to clearly support our police,” Suarez said during a summit of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, of which he is the president.
President Joe Biden was also present at the conference and stood mere feet away from Suarez, a Republican, as he criticized left-wing criminal justice reforms.
“We must bring the ‘defund the police’ movement to an end in word and in deed,” Suarez continued. “We know the president is committed to funding law enforcement, and for that, we are grateful. We also must revisit failed policies like no cash bail, which seem to be contributing to the spike in violent crime in our cities.”
Most of the mayors in the audience loudly clapped in response.
Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson did not attend the summit, as confirmed to The Dallas Express by his chief of staff, Tristan Hallman. However, Johnson has been vocal about the “disturbing practice” of bail reform that allows the release of suspects accused of violent crimes with minimal or no cash bonds.
“The revolving door down at the county jail needs to stop when it comes to these violent criminals who are preying on the @CityOfDallas, and particularly its children,” Johnson tweeted in 2020 with a link to a Dallas Morning News article advocating for bail reform that does not put violent offenders back on the streets.
The Dallas Express asked the mayor’s office for additional comment on bail reform, but his chief of staff declined.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia has criticized bail reform and said it hurts minority communities.
“What’s been going on with the irresponsible decisions that I have been seeing here since I took this position nearly two years ago, is the fact that bail reform has let violent criminals back into our neighborhoods. It is not helping our communities of color,” he said during a November press conference.
Garcia said bail reform “has emboldened violent criminals” and “reduced the trust our community has in the system.”
Like Suarez, Mayor Johnson has also maintained a “firm stance” against the “defund the police” movement, which he said is one of his proudest accomplishments.
“You can’t deny the fact that there was really a movement in this country to defund the police, and I took a very firm stance against that when it was not popular,” Johnson said while discussing his bid for reelection in May.
