During his presidential campaign, Joe Biden promised to reform the nation’s criminal justice system, including the police.

Now the president faces the tough reality of increasing violent crime in many cities around the country and political attacks for not adequately tackling the problem.

Julian Zelizer, professor of history and public affairs at Princeton University, says President Biden should take the long view and “promote policies that address racism in policing, sentencing and prisons because it is the right thing to do,” even though it may be unpopular.

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.

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