AOC's solution to violent crime: Stop building prisons

Democratic New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez presented a solution for the surging rates of violent crime: Stop building prisons.

Violent crimes are up dramatically across the country. In Chicago, shootings are up 36% over last year and homicides are up 19%. In South Carolina, murders were up nearly 25% in 2020 versus 2019; the 571 murders are the highest total since the state started recording those numbers back in 1960. As of May 7, homicides in Atlanta are up approximately 60% compared to the same time period last year. A study of 34 U.S. cities discovered that homicides have spiked by 24% in the first quarter of 2021 compared to the same time last year and are up by 49% compared to the first quarter of 2019. In fact, 63 of the 66 largest cities in the United States experienced increases in at least one category of violent crimes in 2020.

In New York City, the murder rate skyrocketed by 47% last year, and this year it is up 17%. Last summer, when violent crime rates were soaring, AOC hypothesized that the crime rate was spiking because people were shoplifting bread.