GOP smacks Murphy on Atlantic City crime increase

Gov. Phil Murphy’s decision to blame a crime acceleration in Atlantic City on hot weather and the pandemic has drawn a strong denunciation from Republicans who say that responsibility lies with the governor.

“Once again, Governor Phil Murphy’s response, this time on New Jersey’s rising crime rate, is totally unacceptable and profoundly embarrassing,” said GOP gubernatorial candidate Jack Ciattarelli. “There is one reason crime is on the rise and it’s not the pandemic, the heat, the humidity, or any other made-up excuse – it’s Governor Phil Murphy.”

Ciattarelli said that Murphy’s “actions, policies, and words have undermined public respect for, and the authority of, our brave men and women in law enforcement.”

“The sad reality is that Atlantic City and our communities across the state will continue to get more dangerous so long as we have a governor who panders to the extremists in his national party, all at the expense of public safety in our state,” he said.

At his press briefing on Monday, Murphy said that crime increases are “not unique to New Jersey.”

“There’s a lot of behavior right now. I suspect partly, if not a lot, due to coming out from the pandemic — 95 degree, high humidity weather does not help,” Murphy said.  “There’s a lot of kinetic activity in the state right now and in the country.”

According to Murphy, the crime increase is not just in Atlantic City.

“We’ve seen upticks in gun violence in the state, in the country. We’ve just got to plead with people we get it,” he said. “Everybody wants to get out there and unshackle themselves from this pandemic.”

Former Assemblyman Vince Polistina, the Republican candidate for State Senate in the 2nd district, said that Murphy “is clueless on this topic and Vince Mazzeo should have the guts to call him out on it.”

“The spike in crime in Atlantic City isn’t about COVID or the weather, it’s about a Democratic Party across this country that has targeted our brave law enforcement as scapegoats and consistently undermines the rule of law, “ Polistina stated.  “When Vince Mazzeo sides with radicals in Trenton who accuse our police of being the bad guys, and give the real bad guys a pass, runaway crime is the result.”

Mazzeo’s campaign manager, Paul Weborg, pushed back on Polistina’s allegation.

“Shame on Vince Polistina for trying to use our police as political pawns. Especially, as front line workers throughout the pandemic, law enforcement officers deserve more than Vince Polistina cheapening their heroic actions on a daily basis,” Weborg said.  “Polistina has already been rejected by voters for his disaster of a tenure in the state legislature and despicable rhetoric will lead to the same outcome.”

Mo Delgado, an Atlantic City councilman mounting an independent campaign for mayor, has called on the state to take over the local police department.