Donald Trump and Kamala Harris' positions on the police

Washington — Crime is a focal point of former President Donald Trump's White House bid, and he and Vice President Kamala Harris have both worked to take on the role of tough-on-crime candidate .

Violent and property crimes declined overall last year, and the drop in the murder rate from 2022 to 2023 represents the largest decline in the past two decades, according to data from more than 16,000 law enforcement agencies. enforcement laws released by the FBI in September.

But that hasn't stopped Trump from claiming that America's cities are in decline and that violence is endemic. Harris, meanwhile, has highlighted her experience as a former California prosecutor and state attorney general, as she seeks to show voters she has experience targeting violent offenders.

Trump presents himself as the candidate of “law and order”

The Republican presidential candidate has repeatedly presented himself as the “law and order” candidate, and during his election campaign he called for police officers to be entitled to “immunity from prosecution “.

Trump outlined his “plan to restore law and order” in February 2023, which he said includes a “record investment in the recruitment, retention and training” of police officers nationwide and strengthening protections in matters of law enforcement accountability. The former president said he would condition Justice Department grants and federal funding on the use of “stop and frisk” and other tactics by local law enforcement.

He also pledged to “send federal assets” like the National Guard to restore “law and order” in cities.

Compensate the police

In recent months, Trump has stepped up his commitments to protecting law enforcement, saying during a tele-rally in June that his administration would compensate police officers.

A 2014 study of compensation practices at 44 of the nation's largest law enforcement agencies and 37 small and medium-sized agencies found that police are almost always indemnified, i.e. It is not held financially responsible for settlements and judgments in misconduct cases. The study by UCLA law professor Joanna Schwartz found that between 2006 and 2011, governments paid about 99.98 percent of the money recovered by plaintiffs in lawsuits accusing the police. violations of civil rights.

In a September speech accepting the endorsement of the Fraternal Order of Police, the largest organization of law enforcement officers, Trump called for returning “power and respect” to police and suggested that “a difficult hour” of law enforcement response would ease crime.

“A difficult hour, and I mean very difficult, word will spread and it will end immediately,” he told a crowd in Erie, Pennsylvania, last month.

Federal law enforcement and migrants

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

Trump says he would pardon January 6 defendants

While Trump presented himself as the pro-law enforcement candidate, he said he would pardon defendants who were convicted or pleaded guilty for their actions during the January 6, 2021 assault on the Capitol American.

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

Nearly 150 police officers were injured on January 6, and protesters carried guns, stun guns, flagpoles, bear spray and tomahawk axes.

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

Harris focuses on his experience as a prosecutor

Harris highlighted her experience as a former prosecutor, highlighting her work cracking down on violent offenders, drug dealers and banks for their mortgage foreclosure practices. She also sought to draw distinctions between her law enforcement record with Trump, who was convicted in May and faces federal charges in two separate cases. He pleaded not guilty.

“I faced criminals of all kinds: predators who abused women, fraudsters who ripped off consumers, cheats who broke the rules for their own gain,” she said at a campaign event in Atlanta in July. “So listen to me when I say I know Donald Trump’s guy.”

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

On police misconduct, qualified immunity, defunding the police

While representing California in the Senate, she co-sponsored the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, which aimed to address police misconduct following Floyd's death in May 2020. The measure would restrict the use of qualified immunity, a legal doctrine that protects law enforcement officers from liability, prohibits no-knock warrants in drug cases and chokeholds, and requires federal law enforcement officers to wear body cameras, among other changes.

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

Additionally, while serving alongside President Biden, the administration passed the American Rescue Plan, which included funding for public safety and retaining and hiring police officers.

“The only presidential candidate who has ever advocated for defunding the police or proposed cutting funding to law enforcement is criminal Donald Trump,” said James Singer, a Harris campaign spokesman. “Vice President Harris has spent years prosecuting criminals and securing justice for victims, and has supported increasing funding to keep our communities safe and holding convicted criminals like Trump accountable – it’s why America is currently experiencing its lowest level of violent crime in nearly 50 years.”

After Floyd's death, the vice president called for “reimagining how we provide public safety in America” ​​and discussing “redirecting resources” from police to other government functions such as the state justice system. public education 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 target transnational cartels and take steps to prevent the entry of fentanyl into the country.

After Harris was chosen as Mr. Biden's running mate in October 2020, his campaign said neither Democrat supported defunding the police. Sabrina Singh, who was Harris' press secretary at the time, said she supported increasing funding for police departments and community policing.

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Melissa Quinn

Melissa Quinn is a politics reporter for CBSNews.com. She has written for media outlets including the Washington Examiner, the Daily Signal, and the Alexandria Times. Melissa covers American politics, with an emphasis on the Supreme Court and federal courts.

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