SAFE COMMUNITIES

I have supported various efforts to reduce crime by targeting violent crime in our schools, reforming the juvenile justice system, cracking down on the sale and use of illegal drugs, giving police and prosecutors more tools and resources to fight crime, banning gambling on collegiate and Olympic sporting events. In addition, I have been concerned about violence in the media as a contributing factor to youth violence. The internet in particular has been used by cyber-molesters in preying on unsuspecting children.

After an alarming increase in juvenile crime rates in the 1980s, the implementation of innovative juvenile crime control strategies across the country has resulted in a decrease in juvenile crime. To continue these downward trends in juvenile crime rates into the 21st Century, fundamental reforms of the juvenile justice system must be made now by providing states like Kansas the necessary flexibility to respond to specific criminal justice concerns.