Republicans revive soft-on-crime rhetoric amid rise in US homicides

Biden rolls out fresh policy proposals to try to counter rising crime as Democrats look to bat away Republican attacks

Rising crime rates in the US and efforts from the White House and in Congress to pass sweeping police reform legislation have thrust crime policy into the center of the national political debate.

In early mayoral, congressional and senatorial campaigns, attacks are flying back and forth over whether candidates are tough on crime or want to defund the police, often using blunt language that masks the nuances of a complicated issue.