Donald Trump and Kamala Harris’ positions on police

Washington — Crime is a central theme of former President Donald Trump’s bid for the White House, and he and Vice President Kamala Harris are both working to take on the mantle of a tough-on-crime candidate.

Violent and property crimes fell overall last year, and the drop in homicide rates from 2022 to 2023 represents the largest decline in two decades, according to more than 16,000 law enforcement agencies. released by FBI in September.

But that didn’t stop Trump from declaring that US cities are in decline and violence is rampant. Harris, meanwhile, highlighted her experience as a former California prosecutor and state attorney general, seeking to show voters she has experience prosecuting violent criminals.

Trump positions himself as a “law and order” candidate

The Republican presidential candidate has repeatedly positioned himself as a “law and order” candidate and during the campaign called for police officers to be granted “immunity from prosecution.”

Trump laid out his “law and order plan” in February 2023, which he said included “record investments in recruiting, retaining and training” police officers across the country, as well as strengthening accountability protections for law enforcement. The former president said he would condition Justice Department grants and federal funding on local law enforcement’s use of stop-and-frisk and other tactics.

He also promised to “deploy federal forces” such as the National Guard to restore “law and order” in cities.

Compensation for police damages

Trump has stepped up his pledges to protect law enforcement in recent months, saying during a televised rally in June that his administration would compensate police officers.

A 2014 study of indemnification practices in the nation’s 44 largest law enforcement agencies and 37 small and midsize agencies found that police almost always receive indemnification, meaning they are not financially responsible for settling disputes and adjudicating misconduct cases. A study by UCLA law professor Joanna Schwartz found that between 2006 and 2011, governments paid out approximately 99.98% of the money plaintiffs received in lawsuits accusing police of civil rights violations.

During a September speech in which he accepted the endorsement of the Fraternal Order of Police, the largest law enforcement organization, Trump called for returning “power and respect” to police and suggested that “one difficult hour” of law enforcement response would soften the situation. on crime.

“One hard hour, and I mean really hard, the word will come out and it will all be over immediately,” he told a crowd in Erie, Pennsylvania, last month.

Federal Law Enforcement and Migrants

Trump has repeatedly used federal law enforcement resources to crack down on migrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border. During a speech in July 2023, he called for moving “a huge portion of the existing federal law enforcement apparatus”—parts of the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the FBI and Homeland Security Investigations—to focus on immigration.

Trump said he would pardon those accused of the events of January 6

While Trump has cast himself as a pro-law enforcement candidate, he has said he would pardon defendants who were convicted or pleaded guilty for their actions during the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.

The Republican presidential candidate said they were “condemned by a very harsh system” and called the Jan. 6 rioters “hostages” and “political prisoners.”

On January 6, about 150 police officers were injured. protesters carried firearms, stun guns, flagpoles, bear spray and tomahawk axes.

In April 2023, he also called on congressional Republicans to defund the Department of Justice and FBI after he was charged with 34 felonies for falsifying business records in New York. The former president was found guilty on all counts jury in May.

Harris focuses on experience as a prosecutor

Harris has played up my experience as a former prosecutor, highlighting his work fighting violent criminals, drug dealers and banks over their mortgage foreclosure practices. She also sought to draw a distinction between her experience in law enforcement and Trump, who was convicted in May and faces federal charges in two separate cases. He pleaded not guilty.

“I fought criminals of all stripes: predators who abused women; scammers who robbed consumers; scammers who broke the rules for their own gain,” she said at a campaign event in Atlanta in July. “So, hear me when I say I know Donald Trump’s type.”

While serving as district attorney in San Francisco, Harris led a law enforcement procedural justice and implicit bias training program that was designed to build trust between law enforcement agencies and the communities they serve.

On police misconduct, qualified immunity, protecting police funding.

While she represented California in the Senate, she co-sponsored the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, which aimed to combat police misconduct after Floyd’s death in May 2020.. The measure, among other changes, would limit the use of qualified immunity, a legal doctrine that shields law enforcement officers from liability, ban the issuance of immunity warrants in cases involving drugs and chokeholds, and require federal law enforcement officers to wear body cameras.

As vice president, Harris repeatedly called on Congress to pass the measure.

Additionally, working with President Biden, the administration passed the American Rescue Planwhich financing included public safety and police retention and recruitment.

“The only candidate running for president who has ever advocated defunding the police or proposed cutting funding for law enforcement is convicted felon Donald Trump,” said James Singer, a Harris campaign spokesman. “Vice President Harris has spent years pursuing criminals and seeking justice. victims and supported increased funding to keep our communities safe and hold convicted criminals like Trump accountable – which is why America is currently experiencing a nearly 50-year low in violent crime.”

In the wake of Floyd’s death, the vice president called for a “rethink of how we provide public safety in America” ​​and talk about “redirecting resources” away from police and toward other government functions such as the public education system and social services.

But four years later, during a campaign stop in Las Vegas last month, Harris said that if elected, she would double the Justice Department’s resources to fight transnational cartels and take action to stop the flow of fentanyl into the country.

After Harris was selected as Biden’s running mate in October 2020, his campaign said neither of the two Democrats supported cutting police funding. Sabrina Singh, who served as Harris’ press secretary at the time, said she supported increased funding for police departments and community service.