Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer discussed the rise in violent crime in Fresno and across the country on Monday in a live online forum with The Washington Post. Dyer was joined by Mayor Steve Benjamin from Columbia, South Carolina for the streamed event, hosted by Post criminal justice reporter Tom Jackman.

In his remarks, Dyer referenced Fresno’s weekend of gun violence that included the killing of a street vendor, a homeless person in a tent, and a gas station customer.

“So, it’s not only real, it’s recent here in Fresno and very personal,” Dyer said about the jump violent crime.

Mayor Benjamin, however, contrasted troubling statistics nationwide with his community’s recent experience.

“(A)lthough we’ve seen a rise of aggravated assaults and murders all across the country, in Columbia, we have a 24 percent decrease in murders, 11 percent decrease in all-person hits, shootings, and this comes with precision policing,” Benjamin said.

The conversation also explored gun laws, hate crimes and other related topics.

The Washington Post has published the full transcript of the discussion at the link below.

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