Central New York has seen a spike in violence in recent months, and Congressman John Katko brought law enforcement agencies together to talk about how to improve public safety.

“Things are completely 100%, unequivocally out of whack because of a relative few officers in the country, compared to the number who risk their lives and give their lives every day,” said Congressman John Katko. “We have this narrative that police officers are bad, communities don’t want them, we don’t need police, get rid of police.”

Syracuse Police Chief Kenton Buckner says bail reform makes it difficult for his officers to do their jobs.

“We want to strike a balance,” said Buckner. “No one here is saying there are not opportunities for improvement as it relates with our criminal justice system. We just think there has been an overcorrection.”

Police leaders said bail reform is causing more crime and prevents criminals from getting locked up.

Katko cited a Gallup poll that found that 81% of Americans want the same or more police in their area, that policing should not be defunded, but improved.

“We can do things to force departments to be better,” said Katko. “We can also do things to force state legislatures and local legislatures to make decisions. Do they want to continue with these draconian, anti-police laws, or do they want federal funding? There are things we can do to fix this.”

Katko said he is working on a police reform package to bring to Congress.