Survey of 2020 Presidential campaign websites: on Crime

Kanye West: Recognize racial disparity in verdicts & prison sentences

There will not be differing weights and differing measures. -- Proverbs 20:10

Reform the approach to policing in a manner that treats all Americans the same, regardless of race, color, or ethnicity. Refocus police forces on real crime. Eliminate federal sentencing guidelines that tie the hands of judges, resulting in ridiculous sentences for the most minor offenses.

We will speak for those who cannot speak for themselves. -- Proverbs 31:8

Gloria La Riva: End racism, police brutality, mass incarceration

Jo Jorgensen: End civil asset forfeiture prior to conviction

Mike Bloomberg: End cash bail; $2.5 billion for public defenders

Mike will launch a Department of Justice reform hub to evaluate and fund state-level criminal justice reform efforts, set a goal to reduce incarceration by 50% by 2030 and spread the use of alternatives to prison pioneered in New York. He will launch a national initiative to address unsanitary and inhumane prison conditions and will launch new education and job training programming. He will focus probation on re-integration, with a goal of cutting probation revocation by one-third nationally.

Mike Bloomberg: Restore voting rights to felons after they're out

Mike Bloomberg: Supported 1996 crime bill and stop-and-frisk policing

Mike Bloomberg: Crime dropped 32%; murders halved; 36% fewer behind bars

Howie Hawkins: End the carceral surveillance state

If I run, I will prioritize a freedom and democracy agenda, including an end to the war on drugs and the over-policing of minority communities, funding public defenders and legal services, bail abolition, speedy trial, open file discovery, ending warrantless surveillance, ending the persecution of whistleblowers, and ending preventive detention.

Bill de Blasio: Close Rikers; develop alternatives to incarceration

Alternatives to Incarceration: Mayor de Blasio expanded the supervised release program so that 3,000 nonviolent defendants can wait for trial in their communities instead of in jail. The Mayor also opened new drop-off diversion centers for people with mental health needs--giving officers a safe new alternative to arrest.

Re-entry Services for All Inmates: Under Mayor de Blasio, all inmates will receive re-entry support to connect them with jobs and more opportunity, helping break the cycle of recidivism. The city also offers five hours of programming focused on educational, vocational, and therapeutic needs to each inmate every day.

Bill de Blasio: Ban solitary confinement for youth; reduce it for adults

Eric Swalwell: Give more resources to state and local law enforcement

John Delaney: End cash bail; end mandatory minimums; end death penalty

• End or limit the use of money bail in the federal criminal justice system and encourage states to pursue similar reforms. Cash bail is excessive, discriminatory, and costly for taxpayers and communities
• End for-profit prisons
• Eliminate mandatory minimum sentences
• Increase funding for public defenders
• End the death penalty
• Increase funding for police body cameras
• Promote "ban the box" policies
• Provide federal funding for training and support of police officers designed to prevent racial profiling and generally encourage de-escalation
• Reemphasize Obama era DOJ oversight authorities of law enforcement practices that demonstrate a pattern of abuse or misconduct

Mike Gravel: Decriminalize all commercial sex work

The United States should:
• Repeal the Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act (SESTA) and the Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act (FOSTA), which targeted sites like Backpage.com that sex workers used to screen clients and ensure safety.
• Encourage states and municipalities to decriminalize all commercial sex work.
• Focus on illegal and coercive sex trafficking, not consenting sex work.

Mike Gravel: Ban cash bail: it only benefits the rich

The United States should:
• Abolish private prisons, as they drive up incarceration rates and sentences while treating their prisoners like nothing more than a commodity to profit off of.
• Abolish prison for low-level offenses; courts should decide whom to set free and whom to keep in jail. Other methods of punishment like fines, community service, etc. should be emphasized for these crimes, especially nonviolent ones.
• Ban cash bail: true flight risks and dangers to society should be held without bail, and the rest should not be relegated to only being free if they happen to be rich.
• Ban solitary confinement, as it has been proven to be a tool of torture that ruins minds, causes hallucinations, and scars people for life.

Mike Gravel: No one deserves to be put to death by the state

Wayne Messam: Ban The Box: give ex-cons a second chance

Marianne Williamson: New Department for domestic violence prevention efforts

While some would argue that such programs would "cost too much," the reality is that they decrease the losses caused by violence in the US economy. Diversion and mentoring programs produced $3.36 of benefits for every dollar spent, aggression replacement training produced $10 of benefits for every dollar spent, and multi-systemic therapy produced $13 of benefits for every dollar spent--in terms of reduced violence, crime and the cost to taxpayers.

Andrew Yang: Replace mass incarceration with social programs

Problems to be solved:
• Mass incarceration is one of the biggest civil rights issues of our times, and it needs to be addressed so that all have a fair shot a life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness

As President, I will...
• Work to end the use of private prison facilities for federal inmates.
• Shift drug policy away from punishment and towards treatment.
• Invest money to fund innovative prison programs that decrease recidivism and increase reintegration.
• Invest money to support businesses that hire felons who have served their prison term.
• Push to reconsider harsh felony laws that prevent those who have served their prison term from reintegrating into society.
• Identify non-violent drug offenders for probation and potential early release.
• Implement Universal Basic Income which will dramatically decrease incentives for criminality and improve the functioning of individuals and communities.

Andrew Yang: Body cameras for every police officer

As President, I will...
• Authorize federal funding to pay for a body camera for every officer in every police department in the country.
• Have the DOJ compile accurate composite measurements, including from private sources, of police-related incidents and deaths to establish baseline rates.
• Provide federal funding for training of local police officers in the latest techniques.
• Encourage community-based policing and reward departments for a combination of low complaints and continued efficacy.
• Re-establish the ban on distributing surplus unnecessary military-level artillery gear to police departments.
• Invest in new non-lethal weaponry that can be used to de-escalate conflicts at range and handprint signature guns so that weapons can only be used by their officers (`he reached for my gun' will no longer apply).

Julian Castro: We must face police violence against minorities

I will work to ensure funding so that every officer who patrols our streets wears a body camera. I will target unconscious racial biases in policing and increasing accountability of law enforcement officials. This will include executive actions aimed at demanding immediate data collection on use of force by law enforcement, strengthening and increasing enforcement of federal protections against discriminatory policing, and directing increased resources to unconscious bias awareness trainings.