Our law enforcement officials are absolutely vital to our security and safety as Nebraskans. We should be doing whatever we can as a Legislature to give our law enforcement the support necessary to carry out their roles. 

On January 26th, the Judiciary Committee sat through over five hours of testimony on “criminal justice reform bills.” This includes Senator McKinney’s LB 980 and Senator Wayne’s LB 918. LB 980 would make anyone with a lengthy prison sentence, including mandatory life sentences, eligible for parole after only serving 25 years. This means that the most violent criminals such as rapists and murderers would have the opportunity to leave prison early and victimize more people. 

LB 918 would double the cash values required for a crime to be considered a felony. The argument for this bill is that inflation is creating felons out of people committing small-scale crimes. However, this is not true. There are only six states that have a felony theft threshold higher than us, and, if this bill were to pass, it would put us at number one. Currently, our felony theft threshold is even higher than in California. This is simply a bill that softens Nebraska’s response to crime and makes our state vulnerable to “smash and grab” robberies that plague other cities. I opposed LBs 980 and 918. Being soft on crime does not keep crime from happening, and it will exacerbate the issues our agencies are facing.

There are better ways to deal with criminals than by letting inmates out early. Though LB 920 has many problematic parts to it, there are a few ideas in there worth pursuing. One of these ideas is to expand problem-solving and drug courts. These courts operate within judicial districts and are established for the treatment of problems related to substance use, mental health, domestic violence, and inmates reentering society after incarceration. They are an innovative way to address the root causes of incarceration and recidivism. We have one of these courts in Nemaha County, and it has been an absolute blessing to our community. People are less likely to recommit crimes after participating in these courts, which helps our law enforcement protect our communities.

We should still go even further in helping our law enforcement agencies. That is why I brought LB 942 this session. After surveying law enforcement agencies across the state, I found some key issues that they are facing in staffing their agencies. LB 942 would give law enforcement agencies in rural areas the opportunity to utilize non-certified and reserve officers for law enforcement purposes. It also would remove the reciprocity program for law enforcement statewide. I look forward to getting this bill passed and giving our officers the resources they need to best protect us.

As always, I welcome your input on issues important to you. Follow along on my Facebook and Twitter pages, both entitled “Senator Julie Slama” for more updates, or contact me directly at Senator Julie Slama, District 1 State Capitol, PO Box 94604, Lincoln NE 68509-4604; telephone: 402-471-2733; email: jslama@leg.ne.gov.