Criminal Justice & Gun Violence

As a federal prosecutor, Ahsan proactively worked with federal public defenders on alternatives to incarceration and life-altering criminal charges. His work gave him firsthand experience that shapes his balanced perspective on our criminal justice system. Reform is necessary to improve how we deal with offenders and how we train, retain and appropriately compensate our law enforcement professionals.

Ahsan believes that for lesser criminal offenses, our communities are better served by rehabilitating offenders and teaching them real-life skills that they can use to stay out of prison and contribute to society. This will break the cycle of repeat offenses. Instead of routinely pursuing incarceration, we should – when it makes sense to do so – increase our use of probation, community service and work release. The United States leads the world as the country with the most people in prison – over 2 million. That is not something to be proud of. Ahsan also believes that some situations that currently end in arrest might be better handled as mental health or substance abuse cases. Prison should not be the first consideration in all criminal justice cases.

Ahsan is very concerned with the unchecked rise in crime coupled with the 200+ police officer shortage in Fairfax County. If elected, Ahsan will, on day one, start building a coalition of federal, state, local, business, non-profit, and faith-based partners to develop a comprehensive and collaborative solution to our police and first responder shortage. Public servants deserve a livable wage that recognizes their daily sacrifices and rewards their contributions to our safety and security. Keeping in mind the national inflation numbers and high housing costs is key to making sure that police officers and first responders can provide for their families and continue to benefit our community.

Lastly, while continuing to expand on our current number of first responders, it is crucial to ensure that we train them adequately, properly resource them, and constantly support them to do what is right. Our coalition will explore holistic options and more, knowing full well that much of the expertise lies with our police forces themselves.

Ahsan will focus on bringing back justice into our criminal justice system. We can support our public servants and reduce recidivism at the same time.