Criminal justice on the ballot: Where do the nominees stand
With the election about a week away, both Republican nominee Donald Trump and Democratic nominee Kamala Harris are continuing to furiously campaign in several swing states. With offensive remarks at Trump’s rallies going viral, numerous outlets are honing in on the rhetoric surrounding his campaign, particularly his claims about crime and immigration. But it is important to take a look at where both candidates actually stand on the topic of crime and criminal justice.
In general, the two major parties take different approaches to crime, with Republicans valuing increased punishments and policing, while Democrats lean towards reform. Around 61% of registered voters believed that violent crime was "very important" to their voting decisions, according to polls in 2022.
Trump’s stances on criminal justice
While he was campaigning in 2016, Trump presented himself as the “law-and-order candidate”, advocating for increased police power and promising to give officers immunity from prosecution. He also rallied against inner-city crime and promoted the death penalty.
Trump has rallied with police forces, providing nearly $400 million for law enforcement to help with staffing shortages. He has established several new training practices and signed the Safe Policing for Safe Communities executive order to promote reform with police departments.
While in the White House, Trump helped enact the First Step Act, a law reforming criminal justice by reducing mandatory minimum prison sentences. The law also gave judges power to sentence nonviolent offenders to less time in jail and increased job training to help lower recidivism. However, he later attacked this legislation and mocked Democratic calls to defund the police in 2020.
Also in 2020, Trump received a large donation from the private prison industry, and later used private prisons to detain asylum seekers and immigrants. A large part of his 2024 campaign is immigration and the role that migrants play in crime. He continuously promises to “stop the migrant crime epidemic, demolish the foreign drug cartels, crush gang violence and lock up violent offenders,” despite recent research disproving that immigrants commit any more crimes than native-born Americans.
Harris’ stances on criminal justice
Harris has an extensive background in criminal justice, graduating from the University of California College of the Law, San Francisco and joining the Alameda County district attorney’s office in 1990. She focused on child sexual assault and later went on to become the district attorney of San Francisco in 2004. In 2010, she became the attorney general of California.
As attorney general, Harris sponsored a bill to withhold financial benefits from convicted traffickers of minors. This legislation passed the senate in 2012 unanimously. In 2015, Harris criticized the foster care system and its direct ties to child trafficking in a speech at UCLA. She also highlighted the numerous types of trafficking, instead of just sex trafficking.
In 2020, Harris advocated for reform with the “Defund the Police” movement, arguing that it would question public safety and budgeting within departments. Three years later, the Justice Department's Office of Community Oriented Policing Services provided law enforcement agencies with grants of $334 million. Her campaign has also promoted the American Rescue Plan and the Biden administration’s $15 billion in investments to law enforcement.
While vice president, Harris supported the signing of an order to ban chokeholds unless authorized as deadly force, mandate anti-bias training and establish a national database of police misconduct. She also brought up the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act as senator, calling for police accountability and racial profiling. In 2019, Harris argued that private prisons are financially motivated and are not conducive to rehabilitation. She also supported the abolishment of prisons as holdings for unauthorized migrants.
Vote to use your voice
As the election nears, the differing approaches to criminal justice highlight a pivotal choice for voters. Trump’s focus on tough policing contrasts sharply with Harris’s emphasis on reform and accountability. With crime a top concern for many, the candidates' stances will shape not only the immediate political landscape but also the future of justice in America.
By Mikayla Melo
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