Justice & Crime

Meeting with Supreme Court Justice Nominee Sonia SotomayorSenator Murray supports giving law enforcement the tools they need to protect and defend our communities. Senator Murray has worked hard to provide adequate federal funding for additional law enforcement agents at the state and federal level.  She has also supported smart policies to combat violence, drugs, crime and gangs.

As a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Senator Murray has advocated for increased funding to state and local law enforcement agencies through the Department of Justice Byrne Grant program and the Community Oriented Policing (COPS) grant programs.  She has also used her position to ensure that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) remains committed to its traditional law enforcement mission, in addition to its new counter-terrorism and intelligence roles.

Priorities

  • Funding law enforcement needs;
  • Focusing federal resources on fighting crime in our communities;
  • Increasing the federal law enforcement presence in Washington state;
  • Supporting comprehensive anti-drug efforts; and
  • Partnering with law enforcement and community efforts to fight gangs in our communities.

Accomplishments

  • Secured funding for partnerships to keep at-risk youth out of gangs;
  • Established a national center to fight methamphetamines based in Pierce County;
  • Supported comprehensive efforts to fight methamphetamine in every Washington county under the Washington State Methamphetamine Initiative;
  • Supported funding for law enforcement technology improvements for better communications and faster emergency response times;
  • Worked to bring additional resources to prosecute criminals in Washington communities along the Canadian border;
  • Worked to fund local law enforcement task forces against gangs and drug crime;
  • Fought to ensure that criminal investigations remain a focus for the FBI in allocating resources and agents nationwide and to our state.