Amy Klobuchar on Crime DFL Sr Senator (MN); Democratic presidential contender

Increase fines on cartels engaging in price fixing

Appealed conviction downgrading felony to avoid deportation

Address racism in the system though diversity, reform

Safe harbor for prostitutes;but don't decriminalize sex work

KLOBUCHAR: I've been a leader on human trafficking. I was actually the lead on the bill that included my provision for safe harbor. What that meant, of course, was that if you have sex trafficking, either domestic or internationally, that you have to have a safe harbor for young people who are victims, so that they're not prosecuted themselves. I am not in favor of decriminalizing all of sex work. I'm concerned about the effect that's going to have on young women and violence against women.

I support racial justice: make prosecutors accountable

KLOBUCHAR: That's not my record. When I was there, the way we handled these police shootings, I actually took a stand to make sure outside investigators handled them. I took on our major police chief in Minneapolis. But in the prosecutor's office, they were handled with a grand jury. That's how they were all handled across our state. I now believe it is better for accountability if the prosecutor handles them and makes those decisions herself.

Reduce sentences for nonviolent offenders

Abolish capital punishment

13 CANDIDATES HAVE SIMILAR VIEWS: Cory Booker; Peter Buttigieg; Julian Castro; Bill de Blasio; John Delaney; Tulsi Gabbard; Kirsten Gillibrand; John Hickenlooper; Beto O`Rourke; Bernard Sanders; Eric Swalwell; Elizabeth Warren; Andrew Yang.

Candidates who have called for abolishing capital punishment altogether say inmates sentenced to death should have their sentences commuted to life without parole.

Reduce mandatory minimum sentences

No candidates have similar views. Sen. Amy Klobuchar has called for creating federal incentives "so that states can restore some discretion from mandatory sentencing for nonviolent offenders." The Minnesota Democrat has proposed building on advances in flexibility for judges for mandatory minimums and adding more safety valves, or exceptions to minimum sentencing guidelines.

Supports prison reform & treatment over punishment

We must address human trafficking abroad and domestically

Human trafficking is the third biggest criminal enterprise in the world. As long as ISIS is selling girls for $165, and parents in Nigeria are left with nothing but bows and arrows to chase the terrorists who steal their daughters, we will never have a just and good world. Because when women are held back, democracies falter. When women are bound and treated as sex slaves, tyrants rule. Opportunity for women is not a sign of a country's weakness, it is a sign of a nation's strength.

Victims want convictions, but also want to trust courts

We would always explain to victims that even when the County Attorney's Office didn't have enough evidence to bring charges, the decision to come forward and provide assistance still mattered and made a difference. Their evidence would be kept on file, and it might prove to be a deciding factor in a future case. Years later, that's why I fought hard to add provisions to federal law to preserve records of sexual assaults in the military.

People who break the law need to be held accountable

Ultimately, he stole about $400,000 from the trust, and he did it while serving as a judge on the Minnesota court of Appeals. His crime was unprecedented.

My view? [As I said to the New York Times] "I believe he was greedy and wanted to live a lifestyle that he didn't have the money to live." He had to go to prison.

Despite the fervent testimony of Admunson's many witnesses, we got the sentence we asked for. When people break the law, they need to be held accountable, no matter who they are or who they know or who they hire as a lawyer.

Lock up predatory sex offenders indefinitely

Increase funding for "COPS ON THE BEAT" program.

COPS Improvements Act of 2007 - Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to make grants for public safety and community policing programs (COPS ON THE BEAT or COPS program). Revises grant purposes to provide for:

1. the hiring or training of law enforcement officers for intelligence, antiterror, and homeland security duties;
2. the hiring of school resource officers;
3. school-based partnerships between local law enforcement agencies and local school systems to combat crime, gangs, drug activities, and other problems facing elementary and secondary schools;
4. innovative programs to reduce and prevent illegal drug (including methamphetamine) manufacturing, distribution, and use; and
5. enhanced community policing and crime prevention grants that meet emerging law enforcement needs.

Authorizes the Attorney General to make grants to:
1. assign community prosecutors to handle cases from specific geographic areas and address counterterrorism problems, specific violent crime problems, and localized violent and other crime problems; and
2. develop new technologies to assist state and local law enforcement agencies in crime prevention.

Facilitate recovering crime victim restitution fees.

Congressional Summary:

• Requires the chief justice of the highest court of any state that wishes to collect past-due, legally enforceable state judicial debts to designate a single state entity to communicate judicial debt information to the Secretary of the Treasury.
• Directs the Secretary, upon receiving notice from such an entity that a named person owes a past-due, legally enforceable state judicial debt, to pay such debt from any tax refund due to such person.
• Defines `state judicial debt` to include court costs, fees, fines, assessments, restitution to victims of crime, and other monies resulting from a judgment or sentence rendered by any court or tribunal of competent jurisdiction handling criminal or traffic cases in the state.

First step: reduce recidivism & mass incarceration.

Congressional Summary:

• TITLE I--RECIDIVISM REDUCTION: establish a risk and needs assessment system to evaluate the recidivism risk of prisoners; to guide housing assignments; and to reward participation in recidivism reduction programs.
• TITLE II--BUREAU OF PRISONS SECURE FIREARMS STORAGE: allow federal correctional officers to securely store and carry concealed firearms on BOP premises outside the security perimeter of a prison.
• TITLE III--RESTRAINTS ON PREGNANT PRISONERS PROHIBITED: limits the use of restraints on federal prisoners who are pregnant or in postpartum recovery.
• TITLE IV--SENTENCING REFORM: reduces the enhanced mandatory minimum prison terms for certain repeat drug offenses.

Opposing press release from Rep. Doug LaMalfa (R-CA-1):: The reform sentencing laws in this bill may compromise the safety of our communities. Criminals convicted of violent crimes would have the opportunity to achieve `low risk` status and become eligible for early release. California already has similar laws in place--Propositions 47 and 57--which have hamstrung law enforcement and caused a significant uptick in crime.

Supporting press release from Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY-10):: S. 756 establishes a new system to reduce the risk that [federal prisoners] will commit crimes once they are released. Critically, S. 756 would not only implement these reforms to our prison system, but it also takes a crucial first step toward addressing grave concerns about our sentencing laws, which have for years fed a national crisis of mass incarceration. The bill is a `first step` that demonstrates that we can work together to make the system fairer in ways that will also reduce crime and victimization.

Legislative outcome: Concurrence Passed Senate, 87-12-1, on Dec. 18, 2018; Concurrence Passed House 358-36-28, Dec. 20, 2018; President Trump signed, Dec. 21, 2018

Rated 64% by the NAPO, indicating a moderate stance on police issues.

Ratings by the National Association of Police Organizations indicate support or opposition to issues of importance to police and crime. The organization`s self-description: `The National Association of Police Organizations (NAPO) is a coalition of police units and associations from across the United States. NAPO was organized for the purpose of advancing the interests of America`s law enforcement officers through legislative advocacy, political action, and education.

`Increasingly, the rights and interests of law enforcement officers have been the subject of legislative, executive, and judicial action in the nation’s capital. NAPO works to influence the course of national affairs where law enforcement interests are concerned. The following list includes examples of NAPO’s accomplishments:

• Enactment of the Fair Sentencing Act
• Enactment of the National AMBER Alert Act
• Enactment of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act
• Enactment of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act
• Enactment of the Law Enforcement Officers` Safety Act (Right to Carry Legislation)

VoteMatch scoring for the NAPO ratings is as follows:

• 0%-50%: soft on crime and police issues;
• 50%-75%: mixed record on crime and police issues;
• 75%-100%: tough on crime and police issues.