Candidate zeroes in on cybercrime
Date: June 02, 2008Source: News-leader.com
"It's unacceptable that (St. Louis) is ranked as the second-most dangerous city in America," said Hulshof. "And it's unacceptable that Missouri is in the bottom half of crime rankings in the 50 states."
Hulshof and State Treasurer Sarah Steelman are vying for the Republican nomination for governor. The winner is expected to face Democratic Attorney General Jay Nixon in the November general election.
Hulshof, who was a defense attorney and prosecutor for nearly 13 years before he was elected to Congress 12 years ago, said he wanted to help make Missouri the safest state in the nation in fighting Internet crimes.
The proposals would increase minimum sentences for Internet child predators and pornographers to meet or exceed federal minimums, increase penalties for Internet fraud and identity theft, help schools form curricula to address Internet safety and cyber bullying and increase funding to form cybercrime task forces across the state.
Another proposal would require all criminals to serve at least 85 percent of their sentences before being eligible for parole. Hulshof also supports a revision of the state's criminal code, which he said hadn't had a major rewriting since 1977, including an evaluation of all sentencing provisions.
He also wants to fully implement a law on illegal immigration passed this year by the legislature that requires people to prove they are legally in the country when applying for food stamps, housing and other public benefits; penalizes some businesses that knowingly hire illegal immigrants; and fines employers who misclassify workers as contractors instead of employees.
A fourth proposal would reform the defunct Governor's Commission on Crime, which he said would hold hearings to determine local needs to fight crime and determine how to reallocate state resources to help.
And a fifth proposal would create electronic prescription monitoring to collect prescription drug data and use that data to prevent prescription drug abuse and "doctor shopping" for multiple prescriptions.
Steelman has not yet released crime-fighting proposals but will do so before the campaign is over, said spokesman Spence Jackson. But he said the main question is whether Missourians can count on Hulshof to deliver on his promises.
"They might not know he has missed 100 votes," Jackson said. "The bottom line is, how can we depend on him when he doesn't show up for work?"
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