OFFICIALS LEGISLATION INTEREST GROUPS PUBLIC STATEMENTS COMMITTEES VETOES

Issue Position: CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORM

Issue Position

Date: Jan. 1, 2017
Issues: Minors and Children Criminal Justice

As a former magistrate and a current public defender, I have witnessed first-hand the need for comprehensive criminal justice reform. We must end the school to prison pipeline and stop locking up our children. This starts by promoting alternatives to out of school suspension and emphasizing deterrence options for resource officers.

We also must raise the grand larceny threshold and stop needlessly convicting children of felonies. Virginia has one of the lowest grand larceny thresholds in the country: If someone takes something valued at $200 or more, they can be charged with a felony. That means, if a child is cold and takes a coat in the dead of winter, they will often be charged with a felony and sent to prison. We must raise the grand larceny threshold to $1,000 and focus on smart-on-crime initiatives that keep kids in schools and out of prisons.


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