McGruff Visits Congress as Crime Prevention Month Winds Down

McGruff was the star attraction on Capitol Hill as Crime Prevention Month drew to a close.

By Jeff Broderson, NCPC Staff

October was Crime Prevention Month and a time to Celebrate Safe Communities. McGruff traveled throughout the country spreading his message of crime prevention and the need for law enforcement-community partnerships. At the end of Crime Prevention Month, he made an important stop on his travels at the United States Capitol in Washington, DC, where he visited members of the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate.

Throughout the day, members of the House and Senate and their staff members came to visit McGruff, along with his crime fighting colleagues Sheriff James H. Branch, Jr. (Culpeper County, VA) and Sheriff Stephen O. Simpson (Loudoun County, VA) from the National Sheriffs’ Association to talk about the important role of community members in crime prevention.  

Of course, they also wanted to have their pictures taken with McGruff, and 31 senators and representatives from 19 states posed for portraits. As with children and young adults, all those present were visibly excited to meet McGruff, many for the first time. One member who had met McGruff many times was Rep. Pete Sessions (pictured above with the two sheriffs) from Texas, whose father was director of the FBI from 1987 to 1993. There were a few members who were so excited that they asked for one picture of just themselves with the sheriffs and McGruff and one that included guests like Rep. Virginia Foxx from North Carolina, pictured below.

McGruff visited the Capitol to remind lawmakers that crime prevention is everyone’s business, whether they be children, merchants, faith leaders, or even members of Congress.  

The sheriffs, McGruff, and the staff from the National Crime Prevention Council and National Sheriffs’ Association thank the members of Congress for taking time out of the day to meet with McGruff in support of Crime Prevention Month and Celebrate Safe Communities, and for helping to “Take A Bite Out Of Crime®.”