PUBLIC SAFETY IS THE TOP PRIORITY OF GOVERNMENT

I support our police officers, firefighters, and corrections officers. Our first responders wake up each morning and go to work to keep us safe. And they deserve our support. That is why we have increased the pay of officers each term I have been in Frankfort.

There are a few points I’d like to highlight concerning public safety. First, Kentucky has more treatment beds per capita than any other state in the nation. The legislature has focused on this issue as most of us have a loved one who has been impacted by either mental health issues or drug addition, or both. And Governor Beshear has heralded this as a major achievement of the legislature in his recent State of the Commonwealth address. There is much more to do concerning treatment, but we should be proud that we are doing more than any other state to help our neighbors with mental health or drug addiction issues.

Second, it is an unfortunate fact that homicides in Louisville are spiking. Just ten years ago Louisville had 47 homicides; this year Louisville will have over 160 homicides. This is not acceptable. So to combat this we have passed the Safer Kentucky Act, which is aimed at better identifying violent criminals, making it easier to catch them, and then keeping violent criminals in prison for a very long time. The Safer Kentucky Act had many provisions, but here are a few: it treats an adult who recruits a minor to commit a crime for them as if the adult had committed the crime himself, then increases the penalty one level; it says that if you have been convicted of three violent crimes then you go to jail for the rest of your life; it studies reentry programs to ensure that we are preparing inmates for a successful life as a productive citizen when they get out of prison; it makes carjacking a felony, among other things.

Third, when you talk with law enforcement or prosecutors, they will tell you that the spike in crime is due in no small part to juvenile crime. So with the mayor of Louisville we are re-opening the juvenile facility in Louisville to have more space for juveniles and have more space for programming to help juveniles do the right thing once they are out, whether it is counseling, treatment programs, anger management, schooling, or the like. Though it seems like a mountain to climb, we have to do more to help the juveniles who feel lost, many of whom act out with violence. Our community deserves to be safe and these juveniles deserve a shot at a successful life.

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I also want you to know that I served on the committee that started the Middletown Police Department. We selected the department’s first Police Chief and helped put the department on solid ground. After a few short years, the Middletown Police Department is one of the points of pride for Middletown citizens. I talk with residents and business owners all the time about Middletown police, and they are universally complimentary of the department.