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Matt Hill for US Congress for Vermont

LAW ENFORCEMENT

Matt Hill stands with our police, rejecting any efforts to defund or dismantle law enforcement agencies. He will support policies and legislation that will provide the necessary resources for police departments to do their jobs safely and effectively.

I completely disagree with the “Defund the Police” movement.  Our society needs order and cannot be at the mercy of criminals or rioters. The policies to defund or reallocate resources resulted in unintended but predictable consequences. With fewer officers on the streets, crime rates have risen, and public safety has been jeopardized. This has increased the burden on remaining officers, altered police response times, led to cuts in certain services and shifts in priorities, and compromised officer safety.


Liberalism in its purest form works great on paper, but often cannot be adequately implemented in a practical sense. Protesting is an essential component of a democracy within the framework of being law-abiding and appropriate in time and scope. Once it falls outside of those parameters, the full force of the law should be exerted for any illegal acts. No protester has the right to damage any property or threaten any individual; if they do, the full extent of the law should be thrust upon them.

When government buildings, sections of cities (such as Portland and Minneapolis), and some college campuses (such as Columbia, Harvard, and MIT) are taken over, the authorities should uphold the law and put a stop to those bad actors. Ohio Senate Bill 267 offers a good framework for a US Bill: “You break it, you fix it”.  The Bill would require rioters to pay for damages they caused while breaking the law.  The Bill’s sponsor says, "Effective law enforcement is a hallmark of a modern and civilized society," Schaffer said. "We need to do all we can to empower our law enforcement officers so that they can fulfill their sworn duty, and we are fortunate that they want to serve." Your right to protest should not interfere with my right to feel safe. Your right to protest does not mean that you can interfere with my movement. Your right to protest is protected by the constitution, your illegal conduct is not.


Our citizens deserve safe communities governed by law and order, protected by a well-supported police force. As your Senator, I will stand with our police, reject any efforts to defund or dismantle law enforcement agencies, and I will support policies and legislation that will provide the necessary resources for police departments to do their jobs safely and effectively.

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