WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – President Joe Biden will call on state and local officials to use more money from the American Rescue Plan of $1.9 trillion to combat crime. As cities brace for the summer crime wave, the U.S. Treasury has released billions in additional funds.

Biden’s inaugural year was marked by the pandemic relief funds, which were passed by Democratic majorities and then signed into law a full year later. In May of 2021, $350 million was given to the state and local government. The funds will then be released this month.

Officials in the senior administration said that $10 billion of the rescue fund was used by local and state governments to strengthen their police force and provide support for community programs designed to keep neighborhoods safe.

Gallup Polls show that Americans are more concerned about violence and crime than they have been since 2016. This is despite a rise in gun-related deaths for 2020. Biden, on the other hand, has emphasized spending more police after some high-profile police officer killings of black men.

Biden wants communities to “put more police officers on the beat – with the resources, training, and accountability they need to engage in effective community policing,” the White House said.

Biden will meet with the chiefs and local elected officials of police in Washington, along with a specialist on community violence intervention.

He will then deliver remarks in the Rose Garden noting state and local leaders who are using American Rescue Plan funding for safety measures, and call on other state and local leaders to make similar investments quickly, the White House said.

The White House declared that “President Biden feels that there has been an increase in gun violence in communities throughout the country in the last year and half” and that his administration was taking a strong, whole-of government approach.