Senator Bayh believes one of the most important responsibilities of government is ensuring the safety of its citizens. From combating gang violence and drug use to fighting on behalf of underfunded law enforcement, Senator Bayh has been a leader in bringing about common sense solutions to the public safety challenges facing Hoosier communities.

Putting More Police on the Streets

As governor, Senator Bayh saw first hand the impact of the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Program, which put more police on the streets in communities across Indiana, helping lower crime rates. Since coming to the Senate, he has continued the fight to fully fund the COPS Program. Since its creation in 1994, local law enforcement agencies in Indiana have received nearly $137 million in COPS grants, helping fund 1,578 additional police officers and sheriffs’ deputies, and more than $12.5 million has gone to the state’s schools to help improve safety in the classroom. Additionally, more than $33.5 million in COPS funds have helped put the latest crime-fighting technology, information-sharing systems and communications equipment in the hands of local law enforcement departments, allowing officers to spend more time on the streets fighting and preventing crime.

To extend the success of the COPS program to more communities, Senator Bayh sponsored the COPS Improvements Act of 2009 to expand the COPS Program to support partnerships between local law enforcement agencies and schools to combat crime and gangs and to reduce and prevent illegal drug manufacturing, distribution and use.  He also was an original cosponsor of the Protect Those Who Serve Act, which would provide grants for the renovation and modernization of outdated law enforcement facilities.

Waging War on Meth and Other Illegal Drugs

Senator Bayh believes in taking aggressive action to curb the devastating effect that methamphetamine production and use is having on communities across the country. As an original cosponsor of the Combat Meth Act, he has pushed for tighter control of over-the-counter drugs containing pseudoephedrine, a key ingredient in meth production. He has also called for full funding of the COPS Hot Spot anti-meth program to provide state and local law enforcement with more tools and training to investigate, prosecute and lock-up meth offenders. At the same time, he’s been an advocate for helping the true victims of meth, pushing for $5 million in the Combat Meth Act to help children whose parents are addicted to meth, along with $13 million to support treatment and to create a national meth treatment center to research effective treatment for meth abuse.

This year, Senator Bayh was an original cosponsor of the Combat Methamphetamine Enhancement Act of 2009, which would strengthen current anti-drug laws to further curb access to the ingredients needed to manufacture this dangerous drug. He also helped introduce the Saving Kids from Dangerous Drugs Act of 2009, which would provide enhanced criminal penalties for drug dealers who specifically target children using drugs made to look like candy, sometimes called "baby meth."

Protecting Kids from Crime and Drugs

As a father of two young boys, Senator Bayh understands the importance of taking aggressive action to protect children from the dangers posed by crime and drugs. In 2009, Senator Bayh introduced the Child Protection Improvements Act, a bipartisan proposal that would make FBI background checks available to youth-serving organizations (YSOs), such as camps and mentorship programs, to help prevent convicted child predators and others with dangerous criminal backgrounds from working with children.  He was also an original cosponsor of A Child is Missing Alert and Recovery Center Act of 2009, which would provide funding to assist law enforcement agencies in the rapid recovery of missing children.

While the Internet can be a powerful tool for education and communication, Senator Bayh recognizes it also poses special dangers for young people. In 2008, he cosponsored the Internet Safety Education Act to support Internet safety education programs for children and parents. Senator Bayh also cosponsored the Combating Child Exploitation Act, establishing a special council within the Department of Justice to coordinate the prevention and investigation of child exploitation cases. The legislation creates an internet crimes task force to crack down on online predators and prosecute child obscenity and pornography cases.

Cracking Down on Alien Smuggling

Alien smuggling is a transnational crime problem that poses a significant risk to national security and public safety. It is estimated that the international alien smuggling and sex trafficking trade generates $9.5 billion for criminal organizations worldwide, and the profits are used to finance additional criminal enterprises, such as the trafficking of drugs, weapons or other contraband. Smugglers endanger the safety and lives of those who seek to enter our country by subjecting them to physical abuse, rape, and deplorable and dangerous conditions. Senator Bayh believes that the crime of smuggling illegal aliens across the U.S. border, currently a misdemeanor, should be raised to a felony offense and has introduced the Alien Smuggling and Terrorism Prevention Act.

Combating Gang Violence

Communities across the country are facing the reality that there are more gang members than police officers on the nation’s streets today. Senator Bayh believes that we can't let our communities be outmanned and outgunned in the battle against gang violence. Senator Bayh is an original cosponsor of the Gang Abatement and Prevention Act of 2009, which makes the recruiting of new gang members a federal crime, with the penalty doubled if a minor is recruited, and increases federal penalties for gang-related crimes. The bill also provides more than $400 million to support local gang prevention and intervention programs by schools and community organizations, including mentoring and after-school programs for at-risk youth.

Victim’s Rights

Senator Bayh believes that the criminal justice system places disproportionate emphasis on the suspect instead of the victim. He is a strong advocate for programs aimed at eradicating domestic violence. He was a cosponsor of the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act and has pushed for the creation of a Domestic Violence Volunteer Attorney Network to help recruit lawyers to assist victims.

Protecting Senior Citizens

Senator Bayh believes that there is no place in our society for the mistreatment, neglect or exploitation of our senior citizens. To combat this problem, Senator Bayh has cosponsored the Elder Justice Act of 2009, which would create an Elder Justice Coordinating Council to help develop forensic expertise and coordinate the fight against elder abuse. He also cosponsored the Patient Safety and Abuse Prevention Act to provide for national background checks on employees of long-term care facilities to help keep convicted criminals away from vulnerable seniors.

Preventing Financial Fraud and Money Laundering

Senator Bayh supports taking aggressive action to punish individuals who illegally manipulate the market at the expense of honest investors. He authored the bipartisan Money Laundering Control Enhancement Act of 2009, which would alter money laundering laws to help federal prosecutors more effectively fight money laundering and terrorism financing.

In the 111th Congress, Senator Bayh was an original cosponsor of the Supplemental Anti-Fraud Enforcement (“SAFE”) Markets Act, which would add hundreds of new investigators and prosecutors to help expose the white-collar crimes that have contributed to the ongoing financial crisis. He also cosponsored the Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act of 2009, which would help law enforcement aggressively prosecute mortgage and corporate fraud.