The plague of gun violence in American cities could be curbed with "the right leadership . . . resources, the manpower," according to former New York City Police Commissioner Bernie Kerik.
In an interview Thursday on Newsmax TV's "America Talks Live," Kerik, author of "From Jailer to Jailed," said Chicago's surging crime should be addressed at both the city and state level.
"If I was the chief of staff for the president of the United States and then became the mayor of a city like Chicago, I could promise you it would be far less crime than there is in Chicago today," he said, referring to Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel.
"I would go to the president and say 'look, No. 1, this is your hometown, No. 2, this is a combat zone . . . a war zone,'" he said. "'We need to clean it up, and I need every bit of resource you can give me whether it's the FBI, the DEA, all this gang stuff, ATF . . .'"
"Look at cities like Newark, Baltimore, these cities are understaffed," he added. "They need more cops, and the federal government has to take that into consideration and get them the resources that they need."
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Kerik also dismissed the notion gun control will solve the problem.
"Look at New York City in 1994," he said. "It was the crime capital of America and people told [then-Mayor] Rudy Giuliani it would never change. Well, they were wrong. It did change, and it became the safest large city in America, and it stayed that way for the next 20 years . . . it can change, it can be done. You need the right leadership in place to do it. You need the resources, the manpower."
He also decried the increase in the number of deadly assaults on police officers over the past two years.
"It's people trying to be politically correct," he said. "They get out there, they jump on the bandwagon, they're crucifying cops for firearm engaged events. They have no clue what happened. But they throw the cops under the bus immediately. I just think the whole trend, the anti-cop trend over the last year and a half to two years, has contributed to this increase in assassinations in cops being gunned down."
Getting over political correctness, he added, will help police get the job done.
"The mayor and the police director in Newark over the last year have reduced crime probably 50 percent," he said, noting his own son is a member of the Newark police force.
"That's aggressive policing, getting out there and doing your job. . . . Get over the political correctness. Go out and do your job."
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