Central Washington facing an all-time crime high

Over the past few years, there has been an uptick in crime across the nation. Unfortunately, Central Washington has been no exception to this trend. Indeed, the total number of homicides in Tri-Cities for 2022 is already at a record high compared to recent years, according to the Coroner's Office. In Yakima, drive-by shootings are becoming a regular occurrence. And that's on top of the exponential increase in carjackings and fentanyl overdoses.

Much of this uptick is a direct result of "defund the police" rhetoric and policies passed at the federal, state, and local level that makes it nearly impossible for law enforcement to do their jobs and protect our communities. For example, new legislative reforms enacted in Washington State designed to protect juveniles have put limits on deputies' abilities to interview them in connection with a crime and have reduced sentencing for juveniles. Officers across Central Washington have made it abundantly clear that policies like these have only increased the incentives for gangs to recruit younger kids to commit violent crimes on their behalf.

The Washington State Legislature has also passed legislation that denies law enforcement the ability to detain, pursue, and investigate criminal activity, leading led to an 88% increase in vehicle thefts statewide since 2021. This legislation and this approach is putting Central Washington families, neighbors, and communities at risk.

The implementation of "feel-good" policy isn't just happening at the state level, however. Earlier this Congress, Speaker Pelosi rammed through a partisan police reform bill that would make law-enforcement officers less safe and effective on the job and would make police officers want to leave the profession and prevent potential candidates from entering the profession. If it isn't clear to my readers: provoking early retirement and hindering recruitment is just a backhanded way of defunding the police.

Make no mistake. Defunding the police continues to make our communities more vulnerable to crime, and risk officer safety on the job. In 2020, the United States recorded over 20,000 homicides, a 25 percent increase, compared to the number of murders in 2019. And that number is only expected to continue to rise.

Our police officers, and their families, make incredible sacrifices so that we are able to work, live, and raise our families in the safest communities possible. We should thank the brave men and women of law enforcement every single day and do everything we can to support them.

I cosponsored the Back the Blue Act to protect our public safety officers by establishing new criminal offenses for killing, assaulting, and fleeing to avoid prosecution for killing a judge, law enforcement officer, or public safety officer. This legislation also expands grant opportunities to be used to build trust and improve relationships between law enforcement and their communities for men and women who don't live in communities as supportive as ours. Last month, I voted in support of the Invest and Protect Act, which passed the House. This bill will create a new grant program and provide federal support for the recruitment and retention of local law enforcement, training for handling situations involving domestic violence and de-escalation tactics and provide training and access to mental health resources. This legislation is also targeted at small police departments who employ fewer than 125 officers, which includes almost all of our Central Washington law enforcement.

I am proud to support these targeted solutions that provide local law enforcement with the tools they need to protect our communities. I will also continue to meet with local police chiefs and sheriffs from across Central Washington to discuss ongoing public safety priorities, as well as recent federal legislation to reform and improve policing across the United States.

We can protect our law enforcement officers and our communities by standing up and having our officers' backs when radical extremists try to defund police departments or malign our frontline heroes. And to all those police officers who go to work every day protecting our communities, thank you for your service, and may God bless you always.