RALEIGH — Republican Congressman Dan Bishop has been campaigning around the state, focusing on crime and safety in his attempt to become North Carolina’s next attorney general.
Bishop’s has hit mainly larger urban areas in Gaston, Guilford, Henderson, and Wake counties, with his next stop in Brunswick County. At each stop, various law enforcement and elected officials, as well as families who have experienced violent crime, have joined Bishop, who represents North Carolina’s 8th Congressional District.
“These listening sessions are, frankly, to symbolize what I’m going to do in office, which is listen to the folks who are on the front lines,” Bishop told North State Journal.
Bishop added that an “overwhelming majority” of the state’s attorneys general and sheriffs have endorsed him.
Bishop recently received a big boost from the North Carolina Division of the Police Benevolent Association. During the Wake County tour stop, the association’s president, David Rose, announced his 17,000-member organization would be endorsing Bishop.
“The most critical race for cops in North Carolina is the race that you’re in,” Rose told Bishop. “This is the most important Council of State race. It’s the one that impacts cops’ lives more than any.”
Rose also said that after the 2020 riots, large numbers of police officers left the profession and most agency personnel rosters still have not recovered, with many still having a 30-40% vacancy rate.
“I am so looking forward to having an attorney general that is going to have their back,” Rose said.
Bishop told North State Journal some narratives that crime is dropping do not match the data.
“The crime is at a sustained 10-year high, and you hear some media figures or media organizations and politicians anxious to say we’ve turned the corner and it’s receding, but it’s really not,” Bishop said. “If you look at the data from Charlotte and from Raleigh the first six months of this year, it’s even more shocking.”
Bishop said more juveniles being charged with violent offenses and “the chaotic border” are contributing to the rise in crime.
On July 9, 18-year-old Carlos Roberto-Diaz and an unnamed 16-year-old, went on a shooting spree across four locations in Charlotte over 30 minutes. The pair were arrested two days later.
“They went through the city randomly shooting people, killing one, injuring others in an MS-13 gang ritual,” Bishop said.
Bishop also expressed concerns surrounding border security and the potential for acts of terror, referencing the arrest of eight individuals from Tajikistan in mid-June of this year who have alleged ties to the Islamic State terror group and were being tracked by the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force, according to The Associated Press.
“People feel afraid,” Bishop said. “The polling indicates that.”
A June 2024 Pew Research Poll found that 61% of registered voters think the U.S. criminal justice system is “not tough enough on criminals.” That’s slightly lower than a November 2023 Gallup poll that found 63% of Americans view crime as extremely or very serious. Gallup’s 63% was nearly a 10-point jump from its 2021 survey.
“And this is not coincidental. All of this is the product of policy,” Bishop said of rising crime. “Defund police was the worst policy idea in the history of the country, and all of the things that came along with it have had the effect of inspiring more crime.
“I believe people need an attorney general who is going to turn the corner on that for real and make families feel safe in their communities. You can only do that one way as attorney general, and that is by tight collaboration with the folks who operate the criminal justice infrastructure across the state.”
Bishop criticized the current state of the justice system as a “constant and only focus on the privileges of those who are committing crimes” instead of weighing the balance of the interests of citizens, victims and survivors of crime.
“Some folks have concluded that the system is ineffective at stopping recidivists, even while their charges are pending,” Bishop said of concerns he’s heard regarding repeat offenders.
Bishop said most people he has talked to are “almost resigned to the idea” that the government won’t help them because the justice system’s doors are so “rapidly revolving.”
During the Wake County stop on Aug. 22, Bishop tied policies like defunding the police and eliminating cash bail to his Democratic opponent, freshman Congressman Jeff Jackson (D-14).
“My opponent has marched with anti-police protesters in Charlotte, supports releasing dangerous criminal aliens as opposed to requiring sheriffs to work with ICE,” said Bishop. “He voted against making it a felony to assault a police officer, he voted against making it a felony to assault a teacher, and he supported in previous campaigns the George Floyd Justice and Policing Act that was designed to eliminate qualified immunity; that keeps cops able to function on the street and not be afraid of their own shadow.”
