U.S. Senator Katie Britt is doubling down on her call for stronger law enforcement and tougher sentencing policies, warning that “blue cities” across the nation are facing a crime crisis of their own making.
During a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing this week, Britt (R-Montgomery) spotlighted the deadly consequences of lax policies that have downgraded offenses, weakened police authority, and made it harder to prosecute violent criminals.
“The problem that we’re facing today was created by blue cities,” Britt said. “Whether it’s cashless bail policies, downgrading classifications of whole categories of crimes, undermining rights and protections afforded by law enforcement officers like we saw in D.C. in 2022, or creating systems to ensure pretrial releases of even the most violent offenders.”
Britt questioned Forlesia Cook, a grandmother whose 22-year-old grandson was murdered in Washington, D.C., about the toll of rising crime and the importance of prioritizing safety.
“Your grandson should still be with us today,” Britt told Cook.
“And we need to utilize every tool in our toolbox to make sure that that is the reality for another grandmother somewhere in D.C. or wherever across this country. And you said today that when you told your story, no one heard you. You said today, for the very first time, you feel heard. Can you talk to me about what it means with President Trump placing emphasis on keeping our communities safe? What it means to someone like you who has lost someone—your very first-born grandson—so near and dear to your heart?”
Cook responded bluntly: “If we don’t send the killer a message, then they’re going to keep killing.”
Britt also questioned Detective Gregg Pemberton, chairman of the D.C. Police Union, about the city’s 2022 Comprehensive Policing and Justice Reform Act, which critics say gutted the Metropolitan Police Department’s ability to recruit officers and enforce the law.
“From your experience, when you have elected leaders that undermine law enforcement, that don’t seem to be standing shoulder-to-shoulder with law enforcement … can you tell me what that does on morale and what it does for recruitment and retention of law enforcement officers?” Britt asked.
Pemberton called the measure “the worst piece of public safety legislation” he’s ever seen, noting it has drained the force by 800 officers in just five years. “It made it so it’s impossible to hold criminals accountable even when they’re convicted of violent crimes,” he said.
Britt has made public safety and accountability central to her Senate work, helping introduce the CLEAN D.C. Act, which would repeal the city’s controversial reform law. She says the nation’s capital has become a symbol of what happens when politics overrides public safety.
“In 2023, one of my staffers was carjacked and held at gunpoint, just one mile from our nation’s Capitol building,” Britt said. “D.C.’s crime rate is higher than the national average and even higher than that of many capital cities in third-world countries. To put it simply, anyone who says D.C. doesn’t have a crime problem isn’t facing the facts.”
As violent crime rises in major cities, Britt continues to position herself as a leading voice for restoring law and order, holding firm against what she describes as “dangerous experiments in criminal justice reform” that leave communities vulnerable.
Sherri Blevins is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You may contact her at [email protected].
