SUPPORT FOR THE FBI DIRECTOR – AT 9:05 A.M. ET:  FBI Director James Comey was criticized by the White House for saying that recent spikes in crime were partially the result of low police morale – a situation caused by the attacks on police by the "Black lives matter" group and other groups. 

Horrors, said the White House.  Why doesn't the FBI director get with the program?

Now Comey is getting proper support from another high law-enforcement official.  From USA Today:

WASHINGTON — The nation's top drug enforcement official said Wednesday that FBI Director James Comey was "spot on'' when he recently offered the controversial assessment that violent crime surges in some cities may be linked to police officers' reluctance to engage suspects.

"I think there is something to it,'' Drug Enforcement Administration chief Chuck Rosenberg told reporters, referring to the so-called "Ferguson-effect'' in which police have been reportedly hesitant to act for fear of prompting the kind of civil unrest that engulfed Ferguson, Mo., last year. "I think (Comey) was spot on.''

Comey's remarks during appearances last month in Chicago put the FBI director at odds with some in law enforcement and the White House, which indicated that existing evidence did not support such a claim.

"I will say that the available evidence at this point does not support the notion that law enforcement officers around the country are shying away from fulfilling their responsibilities,'' White House spokesman Josh Earnest said last week. "On the contrary, I think you’ve seen a lot of local law enforcement leaders indicate that police officers and sheriffs and other local law enforcement officials are actually dedicated public servants who on a daily basis are putting their lives on the line to serve and protect the communities that they’re assigned to.''

The FBI director has acknowledged that data is lacking to support a definitive conclusion, yet he said that he maintained a "strong sense'' of a connection based on reports from local law enforcement officials.

COMMENT:  Comey is obviously correct.  As he pointed out, many police officers are reluctant to "get out of the car" when there are mobs waiting with iPhone cameras to record their every move, recordings that can be used against an officer without any context.

The war on crime in America was working quite well in many (but not all) jurisdictions before Obama came to power.  Now it is failing again.  I wonder why.

November 5,  2015