I support investing in proven community policing and crime diversion programs to keep our streets, homes, and communities safe. We can both invest in our local police forces and demand accountability from those we count on to protect us.
Invest in proven community policing and crime diversion programs and demand accountability from police.
Occurrences
Evidence
DelBene said her amendment to the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act authorized community-based substance use diversion programs sponsored by law enforcement agencies, and DOJ then announced $24 million in grants to implement those programs.
The House passed H.R. 1280, the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act of 2021. DelBene publicly backed the bill, which she said would ban chokeholds, increase accountability and transparency, and serve as a first step toward ending police brutality.
DelBene said she was an original cosponsor of the Justice in Policing Act, describing it as legislation to hold police accountable, ban chokeholds, and change policing culture.
DelBene said she secured FY24 federal funding for Bellevue police body-worn cameras, calling it a step toward improving community safety, transparency, and police accountability.
DelBene submitted a community project request for the Bellevue Police Department Body-worn Camera Program, stating the program would increase accountability and transparency in interactions between officers and the community and improve crime prevention.
DelBene supported a House-passed public safety package and said local law enforcement needs tools and resources while accountability is needed to build trust between law enforcement and the public.
Assessments
DelBene materially advanced and secured federal support for the promised policy area while serving in Congress. Her CARA amendment authorized law-enforcement-sponsored community substance-use diversion programs and DOJ later funded those programs, directly satisfying the crime diversion investment component. She also secured FY24 community project funding for Bellevue police body-worn cameras, a concrete accountability and transparency investment, and repeatedly backed broader police accountability legislation and public-safety packages. Although major national police reform did not become law, the promise was broad enough that these federal actions and delivered funding constitute fulfillment in the same office context.
DelBene took concrete actions aligned with the promise, including securing or helping authorize funding for law-enforcement-linked diversion programs and Bellevue police body-worn cameras, and supporting police accountability legislation such as the Justice in Policing Act. However, the record shows targeted investments and legislative support rather than full delivery of the broader promise across proven community policing, diversion, and police accountability reforms. Major accountability reforms did not become law, so the promise is best rated partial rather than delivered.