Ocasio-Cortez Says Building Less Jails Will Reduce The Number Of People Who Go To Jail

Democratic New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said Thursday that the way to reduce the number of people going to jail is to stop building more of them.

“It is not acceptable for us to use jails as garbage bins for human beings. We need to treat people and see them as human,” Ocasio-Cortez said at a press conference.

“If we want to reduce the number of people in our jails, the answer is to stop building more of them … It’s to support communities, not throw them away,” Ocasio-Cortez continued.

“Our complete gutting of support in our mental health system both in this city and across the country is absolutely correlated with both homelessness and incidents of violent crime,” she added. (RELATED: Ocasio-Cortez — The Socialist Who Owns A Tesla — Gets Roasted On Social Media For Not Helping Grandma In Puerto Rico)

WATCH: 

Rep. @AOC: “If we want to reduce the number of people in our jails, the answer is to stop building more of them … It’s to support communities, not throw them away.” pic.twitter.com/vj4BnNKEVV

— The Recount (@therecount) June 3, 2021

Ocasio-Cortez was joined by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer at the press conference in the Bronx. New York Democratic Rep.  Jamaal Bowman. The press conference was on violence prevention. (RELATED: Ocasio-Cortez Won’t Rule Out Primary Challenge Against Schumer)

Ocasio-Cortez would not rule out a primary challenge against Schumer in a January interview.