Mike Pence on Crime Republian nominee for Vice President; Governor of Indiana; former Representative (IN-6)

Require police to wear body cameras

Mike Pence's answer: Yes

Tim Kaine's answer: Yes

Gary Johnson's answer (Libertarian Party): Yes, this will protect the safety and rights of police officers and citizens

Donald Trump's answer: No, it should be a police department's or officer's choice to wear one

Q: Should convicted felons have the right to vote?

Mike Pence's answer: Yes

Tim Kaine's answer: No

Gary Johnson's answer (Libertarian Party): Yes

Donald Trump's answer: No

Q: Should prisons ban the use of solitary confinement for juveniles?

Mike Pence's answer: Yes

Tim Kaine has not answered this question yet.

Gary Johnson's answer (Libertarian Party): No, it is necessary for violent criminals who are a danger to themselves and other inmates

Donald Trump's answer: No

Law enforcement is not a force for racism or division

KAINE: A U.S. senator!

Q: He said, "I have felt the anger, the frustration, the sadness, and the humiliation that comes with feeling like you're being targeted for nothing more than being just yourself." What would you say to Senator Scott about his experiences?

PENCE: I have the deepest respect for Senator Scott, and he's a close friend. And what I would say is that we need to adopt criminal justice reform nationally. I signed criminal justice reform in the state of Indiana, and we're very proud of it. I worked when I was Congress on a Second Chance Act. We have got to do a better job recognizing and correcting the errors in the system that do reflect on institutional bias in criminal justice. But what Donald Trump and I truly do believe is that law enforcement is not a force for racism or division in our country.

Bringing up "implicit bias" demeans police officers

Inner-city families should want stop-and-frisk

Police officer are the best of us; restore law & order

Always stand with those who stand on the thin blue line

OpEd: even-minded on ending racist police brutality

What he has said publicly paints him as fairly even-minded when it comes to the controversial movement aimed at ending racist police brutality. While he called the shootings of police officers in Dallas last week a "horrific ambush," he didn't blame Black Lives Matter for the shooting, which in 2016, makes him the Republican equivalent of the Dalai Lama. Pence went on to say that his heart goes out to the two men who lost their lives at the hands of police before the Dallas shootings as well, though he didn't mention their names. Pence hasn't proven himself to be racist (or at least anti-BLM).

Reduce crime, not penalties for crime

I support the death penalty; justice demands it

PENCE: I don't see that prospect in the state of Indiana. I support the death penalty. I believe justice demands it in our most heinous cases. But I think what you see in high relief here is a part of the American experiment that explains a lot of the prosperity and success our nation has had for more than two centuries and that is to allow states to have the freedom and flexibility to craft policies, whether it be in the area of criminal justice or whether be in the area of economic policy, in the area of education, in the area of health care, I would argue that will allow the states to be those laboratories of innovation and to reflect the values and the ideals -

Voted NO on enforcing against anti-gay hate crimes.

Proponent's argument to vote Yes:Rep. JOHN CONYERS (D, MI-14):This bill expands existing Federal hate crimes law to groups who are well-known targets for bias-based violence--they are sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, and disability. These crimes of violence are directed not just at those who are directly attacked; they are targeting the entire group with the threat of violence.

Opponent's argument to vote No:Rep. LAMAR SMITH (R, TX-21): Every year thousands of violent crimes are committed out of hate, but just as many violent crimes, if not more, are motivated by something other than hate--greed, jealousy, desperation or revenge, just to name a few. An individual's motivation for committing a violent crime is usually complex and often speculative. Every violent crime is deplorable, regardless of its motivation. That's why all violent crimes should be vigorously prosecuted. Unfortunately, this bill undermines one of the most basic principles of our criminal justice system--equal justice for all. Under this bill, justice will no longer be equal. Justice will now depend on the race, gender, sexual orientation, disability or other protected status of the victim. It will allow different penalties to be imposed for the same crime. This is the real injustice.

Voted YES on expanding services for offenders' re-entry into society.

Proponents support voting YES because:

Rep. CONYERS: Some 650,000 men and women are leaving the Federal and State prisons each year. While the vast majority of the prisoners are committed to abiding by the law and becoming productive members of society, they often encounter the same pressures & temptations that they faced before prison. More than two-thirds of them are arrested for new crimes within 3 years of their release. This exacts a terrible cost in financial terms as well as in human terms. The Second Chance Act will help provide these men and women with the training, counseling and other support needed to help them obtain & hold steady jobs; to kick their drug and alcohol habits; rebuild their families; and deal with the many other challenges that they face in their efforts to successfully rejoin society.

Opponents recommend voting NO because:

Rep. GOHMERT: The programs that are sought to be renewed are ones we don't have information on how successful they were. I can tell you from my days as a judge, there was some anecdotal evidence that it looked like faith-based programs did a better job of dramatically reducing recidivism. In addition:

• There are some provisions that allow for too much administration. That is going to build a bigger bureaucracy.
• Dismissing all charges if someone completes drug rehab under another provision I think is outrageous. You are going to remove the hammer that would allow you to keep people in line?
• We also have a provision to teach inmates how they can go about getting the most welfare before they leave prison and go out on their own.

Reduce recidivism by giving offenders a Second Chance.

Recidivism Reduction and Second Chance Act of 2007
• Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to expand provisions for adult and juvenile offender state and local reentry demonstration projects to provide expanded services to offenders and their families for reentry into society.
• Directs the Attorney General to award grants for:
  1. state and local reentry courts;
  2. Comprehensive and Continuous Offender Reentry Task Forces;
  3. pharmacological drug treatment services to incarcerated offenders;
  4. technology career training for offenders;
  5. mentoring services for reintegrating offenders into the community;
  6. pharmacological drug treatment services to incarcerated offenders;
  7. prison-based family treatment programs for incarcerated parents of minor children; and
  8. a study of parole or post-incarceration supervision violations and revocations.