DENVER — Crime is a top issue for voters this year, and Democrats are leaning into Kamala Harris' experience as a prosecutor.
Violent crime has gone down nationwide, including in Colorado, yet it is still a flashpoint in this presidential campaign.
Harris is contrasting her record as a district attorney and attorney general in California to Donald Trump who was convicted of felony crimes.
"So, hear me when I say, I know Donald Trump's type. I've been dealing with them my whole career," Harris said at a campaign rally in Detroit on Aug. 7.
Whether her time in a courtroom is an asset depends on who is asked.
"Kamala Harris believes in investing in law enforcement," Colorado's Democratic Attorney General Phil Weiser said. "In investing in community safety and making sure a whole criminal justice system works better."
Weiser said he believes Harris will support federal funding that would make Colorado safer.
Harris' policies in California may give an idea of issues she would take on in the White House. Harris has described herself as a progressive prosecutor who punished crime and helped nonviolent offenders turn their lives around.
"It is clear she cares a lot about victims," Weiser said. "That has come through, and she wants to make sure the criminal justice system works for everyone."
Harris' opponents blame current crime in San Francisco on her tenure as district attorney. While she touted an increase in felony convictions, some worry a Harris presidency won't be tough enough on crime.
"When you don't take a firm stance on national security issues, border control issues, the trickle down or trickle up effects, if you will, impact our communities quite heavily," Weld County Sheriff Steve Reams said.
Reams said he is worried recruiting would be tougher with Harris in office. As a senator, Harris introduced legislation in 2020 to hold police accountable including collecting data on misconduct.
Reams said he thinks it is already too hard to be a cop in Colorado.
"If you apply that same mindset at a federal level, it compounds the issue tenfold in many ways," he said.
To see how a president will impact crime in Colorado, follow the money. A criminal justice professor at Metropolitan State University has an idea of the funding Harris would support based on her history in California.
"I can see the vice president taking money and earmarking it for reentry because we don't have money for reentry," Denise Mowder said.
Mowder was talking about Harris' reentry program as a DA which found an alternative to jail for first-time nonviolent offenders.
"I think she is really going to look at the underlying causes of crime and how we can keep that from escalating," she said.
Critics don't label Harris as a tough-on-crime top cop. Some said her stances on reform are mixed.
Despite that, Harris is leaning into her experience.
"But all that to say in this campaign I proudly put my record against his any day of the week," Harris said at her campaign rally on Aug. 7.