Psaki Gets Put In The Hot Seat And Starts To Sweat

White House press secretary Jen Psaki was in the hot seat again on Tuesday when she acknowledged that crime rates have gone up in the past year, but could not come up with an answer for the causes.

“Following up on something you said yesterday when you say that we’ve seen an increase in crime over the course of the pandemic there is a range of reasons for that. Would you consider the reasons in the range, prosecutors cutting people who are accused of many criminal offenses loose too quickly?” Press Reporter Peter Doocy asked.

“Again, I am not, as I wasn’t yesterday, going to give an assessment for every motivation or every reason for crime in different communities across the country. What I have noted, which you see in data, is that there has been an increase in crime since the start of the pandemic,” Psaki replied. “I will let others assess what the reason for that increase in crime is.”

Doocy questioned the administration’s action in relation to the “smash-and-grab robberies” that are being organized on social media platforms.

“We are monitoring, of course, these thefts very closely as we’ve talked about a bit in here,” she continued. “The videos and reports we’re seeing are very troubling. Our state and local law enforcement partners have primary jurisdiction over break-ins and robberies of this kind, but I can say we’re aggressively using every resource at our disposal.”

Psaki said she would defer to law enforcement, the FBI, and other officials to assess how the monitoring of crime is being organized.

Los Angeles authorities announced the arrests of fourteen people linked to 11 smash-and-grab robberies committed in mid-November, who had been released because of the city’s crime reform. Democratic Mayor Eric Garcetti came out in support of a no-bail policy for select defendants.

Doocy pressed Psaki on the stance the White House has taken in response to the rise in crime throughout major U.S. cities and whether prosecutors are “too soft” on crime. She answered by saying that the administration has proposed additional funding for police departments and has been in communication with law enforcement in cities with high surges in crime.

Doocy pressed Psaki on whether bail reform is “good governing,” citing the release of Craig Tamanaha, a pick-pocketer with over 30 arrests.

Tamanaha set fire to the Fox News Christmas Tree in New York City earlier this month. He was released from prison on no bail due to New York’s policy which states that a judge can only set bail if the suspect is charged with at least a third-degree felony arson.

Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon passed Proposition 47, which reduced felonies to misdemeanors despite the county’s 46% increase in homicide and 56% rise in car thefts.