USA: Activists and Police Dispute Causes of Rising Crime Rates

Crime rates across the United States have risen sharply this year, and Washington DC has been hard hit. The police attribute this to the acquisition of illegal guns, the increasing use of synthetic drugs and having repeat offenders on the streets. They call for more manpower, a proposal backed by DC Mayor Muriel Bowser. Social activists, however, say that police violence is part of the problem, while its roots lie in poverty and the unequal distribution of wealth. They say rising crime rates are a social problem, not a criminal problem. Bianca Perez reports from Washington for teleSUR.