Bill's plan to reduce crime
CONTENT COMING SOON!
A word from Bill.
“These statistics aren’t just numbers to me, they are faces. With each crime statistic I see a family or individual who have been victimized because we aren’t holding criminals accountable for crimes.”
The Problem.
As I have visited every corner of our district, one of the most common things I hear is frustration at the rise in crime. Whether it be violent crime, car or catalytic converter theft, or drugs near our public schools, we or someone we know has been affected.
In the past year, we were the victims of more crimes than at any point in 30 years.
· Murder was at an all-time high in 2020, up 80%.
· Rape has increased 40% from five years ago, the most on record since 1995.
· Aggravated assault is up 50%.
· Washington ranks 2nd worst in the country for property crimes.
But it’s not only crime that is up in Washington.
We have also seen the largest increase in unsheltered and chronically homeless in the last decade.
Homelessness in Washington has increased over 220%, while outside of Washington and California the rest of the country saw a 17% decline in their chronically homeless population.
In the vast majority of homeless cases, drug addiction and mental health are the driving factors.
New policies need to be rolled back:
This new wave of crime and drugs has an origin. The past two years politicians passed a series of new laws in Olympia to go along with the defund the police movement in Seattle.
-HB 1310 prohibits police from using force, even in situations where they really need to.
-HB 1054 requires “probable cause” before detaining a suspect, rather than “reasonable suspicion.” This new law does not allow police to pursue stolen vehicles. Now thieves or even murder suspects simply drive away or walk away from officers.
-SB5476 Drug overdose deaths are higher in our state than any state other than California among west coast states because our legislature voted to basically make drugs legal. Now we’ve seen a large increase in overdose deaths.
Worse than what they passed already, here are bills they are trying to pass in 2023:
-SB 5121 lets violent criminals out of jail. This new law will reduce the number of prison inmates by 3,000 per year, or roughly 20% of the prison’s population. This applies to violent and sex criminals as well.
-HB1692 removes drive-by shooting as an aggravator as for first degree murder. Reducing penalties for drive-by shootings will not make us safer.
BILL'S PLAN:
Bill Boyce has a three-point plan to reduce crime and get us back on track.
Reform.
Recent anti-police laws should be repealed. They have encouraged lawlessness and made us unsafe.
Accountability.
Too often crimes are committed by the same criminals who weren’t even prosecuted for previous crimes they committed. Criminals must be held accountable.
Treatment.
For those who end up in the system because of mental health or addiction, more needs to be done to offer treatment so they aren’t stuck in a dangerous cycle. There is nothing compassionate about leaving people to sleep in tents under the freeway or dying from an overdose at a bus stop. We can do better as a society. We must do better.
