Justice & Crime

Meeting with Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan

It is important that law enforcement has the tools they need to protect and defend our communities. For this reason, I have worked hard to provide adequate federal funding for additional law enforcement agents at the state and federal level. I have also supported smart policies to combat violence, drugs, crime and gangs.

As a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, I have advocated for increased funding to state and local law enforcement agencies through the Department of Justice Byrne Grant program and the Community Oriented Policing (COPS) grant programs. I have worked to ensure that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) remains committed to its traditional law enforcement mission, in addition to its new counter-terrorism and intelligence roles. “

Priorities

  • Funding law enforcement needs;
  • Focusing federal resources on fighting crime in our communities;
  • Increasing the federal law enforcement presence in Washington state;
  • Supporting comprehensive anti-drug efforts; and
  • Partnering with law enforcement and community efforts to fight gangs in our communities.

Accomplishments

  • Secured funding for partnerships to keep at-risk youth out of gangs;
  • Established a national center to fight methamphetamines based in Pierce County;
  • Supported comprehensive efforts to fight methamphetamine in every Washington county under the Washington State Methamphetamine Initiative;
  • Supported funding for law enforcement technology improvements for better communications and faster emergency response times;
  • Worked to bring additional resources to prosecute criminals in Washington communities along the Canadian border;
  • Worked to fund local law enforcement task forces against gangs and drug crime;
  • Fought to ensure that criminal investigations remain a focus for the FBI in allocating resources and agents nationwide and to our state.