Every week, Virginia’s 1st Congressional District Progressives poses a question to the Democratic candidates running for the U.S. House of Representatives (VA-01). This week’s question: “Recognizing that as a Congressional Representative you would have no direct control over the behavior of police departments or state sentencing agencies, do you see any options you could take to address the problems of over-policing in communities of color as well as the disproportional problem of police killing of black people? Can you suggest a way forward for criminal justice reform and disparate sentences?”
Our criminal justice system is out of balance.
The U.S. incarcerates nearly 25 percent of the world’s prisoners, but we only have five percent of the world’s population. We have more people in jail than any country in the world. On top of that, corporations make millions of dollars from the incarceration of Americans in a private prison system that’s designed to drive inmate populations up. By building more jails and keeping more people behind bars, more money is made by private prisons. Justice should not be driven by profit.
Our first responders keep our neighborhoods safe. But, when I talk to police officers around the district about their concerns, many bring up how they don’t want to be seen as the ‘bad guy.’ They care about the communities they police because they live in those same communities. However, with several high-profile deaths of black Americans during police encounters, it’s clear there is a growing distrust of law enforcement in many communities around the country.
Advancing meaningful criminal justice reform is a complex issue that requires a series of actions that will reduce mass incarceration, provide a second chance for our youth and introduce smarter policies for policing. It also includes collecting and reporting national data to promote oversight, greater transparency, accountability and inform new strategies to strengthen our justice system.
While many state actions are protected by the Tenth Amendment, Congress does have some control over many federal dollars and programs that benefit state and local law enforcement agencies, social intervention and re-entry job training programs. Congressional oversight can go a long way to alleviate disproportionate policing of minority neighborhoods and the overpopulation of prisons.
We control the purse strings of nearly $2.5 billion that is routed through the Department of Justice for various programs created by federal statute. We can be effective by:
- Strengthening the bonds of trust between communities and law enforcement. Investing in community policing and creating police forces that reflect the diversity of the neighborhoods they serve helps to build trust. This is done through training programs and policies such as my INVEST initiative which provides an economic incentive during the recruitment of police officers.
- Increasing funding for public defenders. Too many defendants, primarily poor defendants, sit in jail for months or even years awaiting representation to be heard in court. Americans are being denied their rights to a speedy and public trial because public defenders have too many cases and not enough money or time to actually do their clients justice.
- Investing in grants for job training and employment services for court-involved youth and incarcerated people. Efforts such as the Second Chance Art Technology Career Training Grant Program and “Face Forward” grant through the U.S. Department of Labor should be more widely promoted.
- Focusing on the treatment and rehabilitation of substance abuse. The majority of inmates in the U.S. have substance abuse issues. We have to stop treating drug addiction as a crime and focus on the treatment as a health crisis. Adding to overcrowded jails and prisons is not the solution and being behind bars should not become the de facto treatment. I support funding that advocates for recovery programs so prosecutors can recommend treatment over incarceration for low-level, nonviolent drug crimes. Funding will also help law enforcement train for crisis intervention and referral to treatment when appropriate.
Reforming our criminal justice system won’t happen overnight. But, if we invest wisely in outreach and intervention programs, and support collaborative efforts between law enforcement and communities, we begin to deliver on creating pathways where there is equal justice for all.
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Vangie Williams is a public servant and strategic planner who solves problems for our federal government. A real-world professional with 30 years of experience, Vangie is not a career politician who will put corporate interests above people. She is committed to an economy for everyone, healthy families and investing in our communities. Learn more about her vision to put people first at vangieforcongress.com.
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