By Newt Gingrich
We are witnessing mayhem in cities across America. Violent crime is surging from New York to Los Angeles. In Chicago, murder has become tragically routine: Just this week, 15 people were shot dead outside a funeral home on the South Side. Portland, Oregon has become a scene of anarchy. Rioters are razing the city, and the mayor continues to appease them. The list goes on.
Normally, these would be the exact situations where the police restore law and order, arresting the vandals, rioters, and other criminals roaming the streets. But these are not normal times.
In many places — such as Portland and Minneapolis — local governments are, despite the current chaos, trying to defund if not dissolve police departments. Fanatical left-wing politicians, high on the zeal of their anti-cop crusade, are telling the police to stand down while demonizing and demoralizing them.
So, how we stop this chaos? How do we restore law and order and support our hardworking men and women in blue?
There is no one better to analyze this troubling situation and how to move forward than Bill Bratton, my guest on this week’s episode of my podcast “Newt’s World.”
Bratton, a legend of policing, is the former police commissioner of New York City and the former chief of the Los Angeles Police Department.
In the 1990s, crime was rampant in New York City. Murders, robberies, assaults, and burglaries were at extraordinarily high levels. Just walking into the subway was a serious risk. The New York Police Department faced similar chaos back then to what police face today. Yet, in a matter of months, Bratton dramatically cut all forms of crime and revolutionized how policing is done in this country. He promised to win the war on crime and succeeded.
I hope you will listen to this week’s episode — our 100th of “Newt’s World” — to learn from one of the world’s most respected experts on risk and security issues. We'll discuss how our cities descended into such violent chaos — and, perhaps more importantly, how we can overcome this moment with the help of police.
