For Janelle Stelson, public safety is not simply a question of putting more police on the streets or increasing criminal penalties.
The daughter of a Pennsylvania state trooper is the Democratic candidate challenging Republican US Rep. Scott Perry in Pennsylvania’s 10th Congressional District. She’s said she supports law enforcement, while also arguing that policing must include accountability, constitutional protections, and efforts to prevent violence before it happens.
Stelson has never held elected office, so there are no votes to examine from her time in government. Her positions come from her campaign platform, public statements, and interviews. Perry, who has served in Congress since 2013, has a legislative record that includes votes on policing, gun laws, criminal justice, and law enforcement funding.
Stelson: Support police, but pair policing with accountability
Stelson’s campaign platform says she supports law enforcement.
Her campaign says public safety and accountability “are not in conflict,” and her priorities page says she supports law enforcement officers doing their jobs safely.
In a 2024 interview with Keystone Newsroom, Stelson criticized Perry over several votes involving police, firefighters and other first responders, including his vote against a bill to protect firefighters from dangerous substances.
“It’s astounding to me. I don’t know where these votes are born, but it’s just not representative of the way central Pennsylvania feels about the military or our police officers or first responders,” she said.
Her campaign platform goes beyond traditional law enforcement funding. Stelson said federal law enforcement agencies should follow constitutional protections and that officers should be identifiable to the public. Her platform calls for federal law enforcement officers, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, to wear uniforms and badges and not wear identity-shielding masks. It also calls for due process and independent investigations when people are killed during ICE operations.
On immigration, Stelson says deportations should prioritize people who have committed violent crimes rather than treating all undocumented immigrants as criminals. In a 2024 interview with WITF, she said law enforcement should have the tools needed to find criminals in the country, while clarifying that she did not mean all undocumented immigrants should be considered criminals.
Perry, on the other hand, has opposed some measures that support law enforcement and first responders.
Perry voted against the Public Safety Officer Support Act of 2022, which passed the House by a vote of 388-31. He also voted against the TBI and PTSD Law Enforcement Training Act, which would have directed the Justice Department to develop crisis intervention training for first responders dealing with people with traumatic brain injuries and PTSD and authorized grants involving local law enforcement and mental health agencies.
He also voted against the Project Safe Neighborhoods Grant Program Authorization Act in 2018. The program was designed to bring federal, state, local, and community partners together to address violent crime, including through prevention, intervention, enforcement and accountability.
Ending gun violence is a central part of Stelson’s public safety agenda
Stelson’s most detailed public safety proposals concern guns.
Her campaign says she supports universal background checks for gun sales, red-flag laws, incentives for safe firearm storage, restrictions on untraceable “ghost guns,” and funding for community violence intervention programs. She has also backed measures to disarm domestic abusers who pose a danger to others.
Stelson has said she wants federal resources to support partnerships between law enforcement and communities rather than treating public safety as solely a law enforcement function.
Perry’s record on gun safety differs.
In 2022, Perry voted against the Protecting Our Kids Act, a package that would have raised the federal purchasing age for semiautomatic rifles to 21, created federal offenses for gun trafficking and straw purchases, established firearm storage requirements, regulated bump stocks, and expanded background-check requirements to all firearm sales.
Perry also voted against the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act in 2020. The legislation included provisions addressing police accountability, racial profiling, body cameras, and federal oversight of law enforcement agencies. Perry opposed the bill, while arguing at the time that Congress should instead pursue a bipartisan alternative.
For Stelson, public safety means supporting police while pairing that support with accountability, gun safety measures, and community-based violence prevention.
Perry’s record shows support for law enforcement and tougher criminal justice policies, alongside votes against some measures to support police and gun safety.
