ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Rochester's continued gun violence has moved the city's former police chief to speak out against what he called the "defund the police" movement in America.

La'Ron Singletary, who is now a candidate for Congress, spoke with Fox News about it Tuesday morning.

Singletary said there's been a 32% increase in homicides involving Black Americans since the push to defund police rose in America.

Singletary is now a Republican congressional candidate, challenging Joe Morelle. His data correlates with what the FBI reports comparing the number of homicides between 2019 and 2020.

Over the weekend, there were eight shootings in Rochester. One of them resulted in the death of a 28-year-old man, according to police.

Rochester is on pace to surpass the record-breaking number of homicides from last year with 24 homicides so far this year, most involving guns.

Singletary said social programs can help with anti-violence efforts, but can not do it at the expense of law enforcement.

"Nobody has to totally lose on this issue," said Singletary. "If you want to have social programs, we need to be sure it's backed up by a law enforcement plan. People need to be safe, and law enforcement is a viable solution to that issue."

Meanwhile, Rochester Mayor Malik Evans says he believes law enforcement isn't enough to stop the violence and continues to push for programs and is asking the community to step up.

"I can have a million police officers, and that won't help solve the problem because if people don't want to cooperate, if they don't want to come forward, the police department, the mayor and city hall are just one piece of the equation," said Evans. "There's a larger piece of the equation, and that is the community coming together and saying enough is enough, and many people in the community are saying that."

Singletary says part of the problem with defunding police departments is many police are leaving to go to other cities where they feel more supported, and that is leaving cities like Rochester with more crime and fewer officers.