Key bulletproof vest program at risk

An important federal program that helps local police officers buy bulletproof vests to wear on the job protecting our communities is at risk of ending, but Senator Coons teamed up with Dover police Sgt. David Spicer on Tuesday to urge senators to reauthorize the program.

Senator Coons, who is an original cosponsor of the Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant Act, called on his Senate colleagues who are blocking the program’s reauthorization to drop their holds and allow the important program to continue.

Sgt. Spicer, who could come to the Capitol on Tuesday only because of the Kevlar soft body armor that saved his life, shared his extraordinary story:

In addition to serving on the Senate Judiciary Committee, Chris is co-chair of the Senate Law Enforcement Caucus.

Click here to learn more about the Bulletproof Vest Partnership and Tuesday's event.

Senator Coons honored for work against domestic violence

Last night, Senator Coons, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee and co-chair of the Senate Law Enforcement Caucus, received the Delaware Coalition Against Domestic Violence’s (DCADV) 2012 Vision of Peace Award.

The award was presented at the Delaware Center for Contemporary Arts in Wilmington during DCADV’s Purple Ribbon Event, hosted annually during Domestic Violence Awareness Month.

“When we shine light on these horrific acts by educating the public, empowering the victims, and punishing the offenders, we can help break the cycle of abuse,” Chris said in accepting the Vision of Peace Award.

The Vision of Peace Award is presented by the DCADV to individuals who have demonstrated leadership and sustained commitment in their efforts to end domestic violence. Chris is fighting to advance the reauthorization of the landmark Violence Against Women’s Act (VAWA) and has worked for many years to help prevent domestic violence in Delaware while empowering victims to come forward.

To learn more about Chris’ work on the Judiciary Committee, click here.

To learn more about DCADV’s work click here.

Senator Coons leads law enforcement information-sharing briefing

Senator Chris Coons, co-chair of the Senate Law Enforcement Caucus, led a briefing on Tuesday for members of Congress and their staffs to provide an on-the-ground status update on law enforcement information-sharing initiatives. The event, “Shared Strength: A Status Update on Law Enforcement Information-Sharing Initiatives,” was sponsored by the Senate Law Enforcement Caucus and featured speakers from local and national law enforcement agencies, including the Delaware Criminal Justice Information System’s executive director, Peggy Bell.

“Protecting our communities from dangerous threats works best when law enforcement agencies work together,” Chris said. “Information-sharing has been an especially critical piece of our public safety strategy since September 11, when we learned that our local, state, and national agencies were unable to communicate during emergencies in the ways they needed to.”

The briefing covered a wide range of issues, but all of the panelists touted the RISS program as a cornerstone of modern policy work, which has saved thousands of lives and helped eradicate jurisdictional boundary disputes. The RISS program is a nationwide information sharing and investigative support program that serves thousands of local, state, federal, and tribal law enforcement and public safety agencies in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, U.S. territories, Australia, Canada, England, and New Zealand.

Click here to learn more about Chris’ efforts to advance information-sharing initiatives.

Senator Coons honors National Police Week at ceremony in Washington

WASHINGTON – Tens of thousands of law enforcement officers from around the world traveled to Washington, D.C., this week to honor colleagues who have made the ultimate sacrifice in the protection of their communities. President Obama and U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.) joined officers and their families on the steps of the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday for an event to mark National Police Week and honor those whose names have been added to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial, including New Castle County Police Lieutenant Joe Szczerba, who was killed in the line of duty in September.

“The police officers who protect our communities have earned our profound respect and deep gratitude, and National Police Week is an important opportunity to honor their work and remember the sacrifices of those who have fallen in the line of duty,” Chris said. “National Police Week serves as an important reminder to Congress that we must continue to work to ensure that our agencies receive the resources they need to effectively protect our communities.”

The names of the 163 police officers killed in the line of duty in 2011 have been added to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, including Lt. Szczerba’s.

“Joe Szczerba was a good person and great police officer whose spirit has been carried on by his family and his colleagues on the New Castle County police force,” Chris continued. “As our nation pauses today to honor his memory, we are reminded that Delaware is truly blessed to have such great men and women risking their lives to protect our communities.”

In 1962, President John F. Kennedy signed a proclamation designating May 15th as Peace Officers Memorial Day and the week in which that date falls as National Police Week. Between 25,000 and 40,000 people from departments throughout the United States and agencies around the world come to Washington to mark the day.

Senator Coons to host a briefing on police safety gear in Washington

WASHINGTON – To mark National Police Week, Senator Chris Coons, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee and a founder of the Senate Law Enforcement Caucus, will host a briefing on Tuesday for members of Congress and their staff to experience wearing bullet-resistant and stab-resistant body armor and attend a panel presentation on the function and science behind this critical safety equipment. The event will be held in SVC-200 of the Capitol Visitors Center and is open to the public.

The “Protection through Innovation: Bullet– and Stab-Resistant Body Armor and Our Nation’s Law Enforcement Officers” briefing is sponsored by the Senate and House Law Enforcement Caucuses and features speakers from local and national law enforcement agencies and the technology industry. Issues that will be addressed during the briefing include body armor wear rates and special fit issues concerning body armor worn by females, the scientific testing process for body armor, and efforts to minimize the risks of backface signature injuries.

The briefing will highlight the importance for the Bulletproof Vest Partnership (BVP) Grant Act of 2012, which is scheduled to be voted on by the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday. Senator Coons is an original cosponsor of this legislation that provides funding to state and local law enforcement agencies to assist in their purchasing of ballistic-resistant and stab-resistant body armor through competitive grants from the Bureau of Justice Assistance.

In addition to Senator Coons, the briefing will be co-hosted by Senator Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), Representative Dan Reichert (R-Wash.-8), and Representative Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-N.J.-8). Senator Coons will deliver keynote remarks followed by a panel presentation by: Chief Jeffrey Horvath, Lewes, Delaware, Police Department and Chairman of the Delaware Police Chefs Council; Retired Chief Ron McBride, IACP/DuPont Kevlar Survivors’ Club; Stephanie Garlock, National Sheriffs’ Association; and Jeff Fackler, DuPont Protection Technology.

Senator Coons commends report on police response to sexual assault

As a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee and a fierce advocate for the prompt reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act, Senator Coons commended a new report on improving police response to sexual assault.

The recent study, released by the Police Executive Research Forum, focused on the progress being made in investigating and prosecuting sex crimes. Chris believes this type of research is an example of the “force multiplier” effect the Violence Against Women Act has in our communities. Although the legislation did not fund the new report, VAWA builds on the latest techniques in law enforcement and officer training to reduce the incidence of domestic violence.

The report, conducted with support from the Motorola Solutions Foundation at the direction of PERF President Charles Ramsey, highlights the importance of updating the definition of forcible rape used in the Uniform Crime Reporting system. It also includes discussion of unwarranted "unfounding" of sexual assault cases, special considerations for serial rapist cases, differences in the handling of sexual assaults on college and university campuses and DNA issues in sexual assault investigations, such as the DNA backlog of rape kits.

For more on Chris’ work on the Violence Against Women Act, please click here.

For more on his work as a member of the Judiciary Committee, click here.

ICYMI: News Journal editorial voices support for reauthorization of VAWA

The News Journal on Wednesday editorialized on the still-urgent need for the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), which expired last fall. Senator Chris Coons, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee and co-chair of the Senate Law Enforcement Caucus, has been the leading voice in the Senate on the reauthorization. On Tuesday, Senator Coons sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid calling for a floor vote to be scheduled on the bill.

There's been a lot of debate these days about a war on women with regard to the role of government and their reproductive rights.

But a bill that directly targets the issue of violence against women has been sitting in the U.S. Senate since last fall. And it is grounded in certain merit.

On Tuesday Sen. Chris Coons pushed his colleagues to stop dawdling and reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act.

…

"Thanks in large part to VAWA, we have made great inroads in the fight to combat these crimes -- the rate of intimate partner violence against women has declined by 53 percent and there has been a similar decline in violence against men," wrote Sen. Coons. "Intimate partner violence resulting in death has decreased by 29 percent."

Locally, VAWA funds paid for law enforcement officials to attend a domestic violence training conference, where they learned about cutting-edge offender risk assessment techniques. As a result, their attendance culminated in passage of a new statewide anti-strangulation law and helped make Delaware a leader in progressive domestic violence legislation.

Click here to read the full editorial on The News Journal’s website.

Click here to read the letter Senator Coons sent to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid urging for VAWA reauthorization

Senator Coons, Judiciary Committee crack down on drug thieves

This morning, Senator Coons and his colleagues on the Judiciary Committee approved legislation to fight a dangerous and growing class of crimes – the theft and illegal trafficking of pharmaceuticals.

The SAFE DOSES Act, co-sponsored by Senator Coons, passed the committee unanimously.

Between 2007 and 2009, the value of medicine stolen rose an estimated 350%, putting Delawareans at risk of unwittingly consuming dangerous or tainted pharmaceuticals. As co-chair of the Senate Law Enforcement Caucus, Senator Coons has worked hard to ensure law enforcement officers have the tools they need to combat this rapidly increasing type of crime.

The new law increases the criminal penalties for the theft of pre-retail medical products, including counterfeiting the label of a drug before it hits store shelves.  If the value stolen is over $5,000, the penalty can be up to 15 years in prison, and if a consumer or patient suffers serious bodily harm from the hijacked medicine, that doubles to 30 years.  In addition, civil penalties and restitution provisions will further deter the theft or counterfeiting of medical products.

Senator Coons brings together local experts to discuss Violence Against Women Act

With the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act, a law that supports and protects victims of domestic violence, now under threat in the Senate, Senator Coons convened local experts today in New Castle to discuss the importance of reauthorizing this critical piece of legislation.  

As the co-chair of the Senate Law Enforcement Caucus, Senator Coons was eager to hear directly from the experts representing Delaware’s state, county and local law enforcement agencies, advocacy, community and non-profit organizations, family court, and the Delaware Attorney General’s office. Each explained that the services and programs authorized by the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) are essential to Delaware families.

Senator Coons is one of 50 co-sponsors of legislation to reauthorize VAWA, which has come under threat from some Senate Republicans who oppose the measure in its current form

“The Violence Against Women Act has been extraordinarily effective in preventing and stopping domestic violence, and it can help us do more if Congress is able to reauthorize it,” said Senator Coons.  “The right to live in peace, free from abuse, fear and violence is universal, yet threats to this basic right can be found across lines of race, class and even gender. If we are to protect this right and truly build a climate of security in our homes and communities, these crimes cannot be tolerated. VAWA offers important tools for that effort, and I’m concerned that partisan obstructionism in Washington might take those tools out of our communities.”

 “We must fight to keep this bill in place. VAWA has touched nearly every community in our entire country," Carol Post, Executive Director of the Delaware Coalition Against Domestic Violence, said.

Participants in Tuesday’s roundtable included:

• Timothy Brandau, Ph.D., Executive Director of CHILD, Inc.
• Patricia Dailey Lewis, Esq., Family Division of the Delaware Attorney General’s Office
• Commissioner Carl Danberg of the Department of Correction and Vice Chair of the Domestic Violence Coordinating Council
• Chief Jeffrey Horvath of the Lewes Police Department and Chairman of the Delaware Police Chiefs Council
• Chief James Hosfelt of the Dover Police Department
• Maria Matos, Executive Director of the Latin American Community Center
• Major Nathaniel McQueen, Executive Staff of the Delaware State Police
• Deanee Moran, Director of the Sexual Assault Network of Delaware
• Carol Post, Executive Director of the Delaware Coalition Against Domestic Violence
• Bridget Poulle, Executive Director of the Domestic Violence Coordinating Council
• Leann Summa, Esq., Director of Legal Affairs of Family Court
• Lieutenant Teresa Williams of the New Castle County Police Department

Earlier this month, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted along party lines, 10-8, to advance the current reauthorization out of committee. It now awaits consideration of the full Senate. Click here to read more about the partisan fight over VAWA: http://huff.to/ypDpSq

Senator Coons spoke about the bill on the Senate floor on February 2. Click here to watch or read it: http://bit.ly/zIYpag

In op-ed, Senator Coons writes that Violence Against Women Act must be reauthorized

From The Huffington Post: On the day the Senate Judiciary Committee took up the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act, Senator Coons, a member of the Committee and founder and co-chair of the Senate Law Enforcement Caucus,  penned an op-ed stating his support for working to prevent domestic abuse.

The right to live in peace, free from abuse, fear and violence is universal, yet threats to this basic right can be found across lines of race, class and even gender. If we are to protect this right and truly build a climate of security, these crimes cannot be tolerated.

That's why today, my Senate Judiciary Committee colleagues and I are taking up a reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). Originally passed in the 1990's, certain provisions of this law were written in such a way that they had to be reauthorized every five years, including this year. This reauthorization process isn't a signal that Congress is uncertain about the need for VAWA. On the contrary, it signifies a belief that protecting victims of domestic and dating violence is so important that we must revisit it every five years to make sure that we are getting it right.

The Violence Against Women Act has made a real difference in the nearly two decades it has been the law of the land, with the annual incidence of domestic violence falling by more than 50 percent. Yet we still have a long way to go. Just this year we saw a tragedy unfold in Delaware, where three children watched as their mother was beaten to death on a sidewalk by her ex-boyfriend.

Evil of this kind thrives in darkness, and the Violence Against Women Act serves as a brilliant spotlight, illuminating these crimes so those responsible can be held accountable. In previous generations, domestic violence was just as widespread as it is today, but it simply wasn't discussed in public. We've made considerable progress in bringing domestic violence out from the shadows and seen as a crime not only to be recognized, but to be addressed. As a parent myself, I believe we must keep up our efforts, and that through education and persistence, we can do even more for the next generation.

Click here to read the op-ed in The Huffington Post.

Click here to read Chris’ release on cosponsoring the Violence Against Women Act reauthorization.