Congressman Kucinich believes in the importance of protecting communities from crime and rehabilitating offenders. Prevention is vital, and Congressman Kucinich is dedicated to finding ways to encourage young people to make wise decisions.
It is also important that local police departments have adequate resources to protect the neighborhoods of Northeast Ohio. Congressman Kucinich has been a consistent supporter of the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) program as well as the Police Athletic League.
The Assault Weapons Ban
Underage Drinking
Accomplishments
Link Between Animal Cruelty and Violence Against Humans
View press releases and related documents on crime
The Assault Weapons Ban
Congressman Kucinich is an advocate for the Assault Weapons Ban. He believes the ban should not have been allowed to expire in the 108th Congress. During the 110th Congress, he was a cosponsor of legislation that would reauthorize the assault weapons ban.
Underage Drinking
Congressman Kucinich has worked to diminish the incidence of underage drinking during his time in Congress. In 2001, the Congressman cosponsored a bill to provide for a national media campaign to reduce and prevent underage drinking. Young people see more than 2,000 advertisements for beer and wine each year. Studies have shown that such ads may predispose young people for drinking. Congressman Kucinich supports efforts to strengthen advertising codes to ensure young people are less affected by alcohol advertisements. The Congressman also supports strengthening compliance checks at stores by local law enforcement to ensure minors are not easily able to purchase alcohol.
Accomplishments
Congressman Kucinich continues to evaluate the merits of anti-crime measures in the U.S. Congress, and works on a bipartisan basis to curtail the escalation of crime. In past sessions of Congress, Congressman Kucinich has amended juvenile justice legislation, the Child Safety and Protection Act, to help states obtain assistance in compiling the records of violent juveniles and establish statewide computer systems for their records. The Kucinich Amendment was endorsed by the Fraternal Order of Police, the nation’s largest police membership organization.
The initiative was inspired by the family of slain Cleveland Police Officer Robert "Robbie" Clark, who was killed in the line of duty on July 1, 1998, during an undercover drug operation. Since the tragedy, the Clark family has actively lobbied for a number of legislative changes, including improving juvenile criminal records, seeking research funds for new lightweight bulletproof vests, and designating Cleveland and northern Ohio as a High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA).
Congressman Kucinich is also a supporter of the Parma Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.) Program donating $500 annually for the past several years in his name through the K-Mart Race Against Drugs Foundation. The funds enabled the Parma Police Department to expand the drug prevention services offered to students in local schools.
In 1999, Congressman Kucinich, along with a number of Congressional colleagues, raced lawnmowers along Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, DC in the annual "Kids Race Against Drugs Celebrity Challenge" on Capitol Hill. The purpose of the race, which links motorsports with substance abuse prevention, is to educate America’s youth to the danger of illegal drugs in today’s society. Each contestant in the race was awarded $500 dollars for a local drug-prevention charity.
Link Between Animal Cruelty and Violence Against Humans
Congressman Kucinich strongly supports efforts to prevent violence at all levels - including animal abuse. Research confirms a strong correlation between animal cruelty and violence against humans. Studies show that violent offenders frequently have childhood and adolescent histories of serious and repeated animal abuse. It has also been found that animal cruelty often occurs in households experiencing family violence -child abuse, spousal abuse and elder abuse.
Congressman Kucinich was successful in adding language to the Manager’s Amendment of the H.R. 1900, the Juvenile Crime Control and Delinquency Prevention Act of 2001, that allows programs designed to prevent animal cruelty by juveniles and to counsel juveniles who committed animal cruelty offenses to be eligible for funding through the Juvenile Delinquency Prevention Block Grant Program.
In an effort to promote awareness of the connection between animal abuse and human violence Congressman Kucinich sponsored a briefing, along with the American Humane Association, to educate Capitol Hill staffers about the topic.
