Election-year debate over crime as Colorado panel moves bill

By JAMES ANDERSON
Associated Press

DENVER (AP) — The partisan divide over how to confront escalating street crime came to the fore as a Colorado legislative panel advanced a Democrat-sponsored bill designed to let local communities use state grants for neighborhood improvements in high-crime areas. Debate over the bill mirrored the national crime conversation heading toward the midterm elections: Republicans insist it’s time to directly fund police who have weathered protests against police brutality. Democrats say a host of factors, including the coronavirus pandemic, are to blame and that a multipronged approach is needed. The Senate Local Affairs Committee advanced the bill by a 3-2 party-line vote.