Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker suggested that big cities across the United States need to be more supportive of public safety initiatives and law enforcement or face worse crime.
Parker hosted Gov. Greg Abbott and other state leaders in Fort Worth for a signing ceremony earlier in the week. Abbott signed several bills into law dealing with illegal street racing, as reported by The Dallas Express.
During the event, Parker said, “It goes without saying that any city’s number one responsibility has to be public safety. … I can assure you that Fort Worth is 100% committed to public safety, to making sure our officers have every single resource needed.”
She praised the Fort Worth Police Department and thanked Abbott and the Texas Legislature for advancing public safety initiatives.
“I’ll just say this. These are difficult times in this country. You have large cities falling apart because they’re not focused on public safety. And the only way you have a thriving large city that is focused on quality of life is because of the men and women that are willing to wear a uniform and carry a badge,” Parker concluded.
Fort Worth is currently ranked the 12th largest city in the country. It is also the fastest-growing city.
Over in Dallas, Mayor Eric Johnson has also made public safety and law enforcement hallmarks of his administration.
Johnson has consistently advocated on behalf of law enforcement, arguing against the “Defund the Police” movement and publicly calling for police to leave less supportive municipalities to work at the Dallas Police Department (DPD), as reported by The Dallas Express.
DPD has been suffering from a severe staffing shortage in recent years, lacking around 900 officers. Per a City analysis, a force of roughly 4,000 is necessary to adequately police a city of Dallas’ size.
In his most recent State of the City address, Johnson claimed that “the foundation of everything we do is public safety.”
“No matter which way the political winds blew, I always put public safety first,” Johnson said. “I fought back against the defund the police movement.”
He condemned the “criminal element,” stating, “They’re not the victims of a flawed system. They’re one of the system’s biggest flaws.”
Dallas residents recently indicated that they felt the number one issue negatively affecting large cities was the lack of criminal prosecution, as The Dallas Express reported.
Furthermore, a recent national poll found that 71% of Americans believed that police should not ignore “minor offenses” such as shoplifting.
