More than 130 of the nation’s top law-enforcement officials are pushing for prison reform, reports The New York Times.
A collaboration of big-city police chiefs, sheriffs, prosecutors and attorney generals have joined the call to end harsh and counterproductive practices and policies that contribute to America’s prison boom, the newspaper reported.
The current system destroys communities and has disenfranchised a generation of men of color, an Oct. 22 Times editorial stated.
“It’s really clear that we can reduce crime and at the same time reduce incarceration,” said Garry McCarthy, Chicago’s police chief. McCarthy was surrounded by police chiefs from New York City, Los Angeles, Seattle, Philadelphia and Houston.
The editorial says the group is focusing on three broad areas of reform that have been successful in cities and states around the country.
First, alternatives in arrest and prosecution are being sought to reduce the number of people entering prison, particularly for those with substance abuse and mental illness problems.
Second, they call for the modification or elimination of harsh sentencing laws, which the group said destroy lives and burden state budgets. Police chiefs even called for some nonviolent felonies to be re-categorized as misdemeanors, as California did last year, and for minor crimes to be taken off the books. They also seek to reform mandatory-minimum sentences, and give judges more discretion to make time proportionate to the crime.
Third, they want to rebuild relationships with the community because of the lack of trust between residents and police, especially people of color.
To achieve these goals, law enforcement officials will have to limit their own extremely broad powers, according to the editorial.
The Times says it remains to be seen how the group will square its push for fewer arrests with aggressive policing philosophies like the deeply problematic “broken windows” approach, which was pioneered by New York Police Commissioner William Bratton, a member of the group.
However, many district attorneys and law-enforcement officers strongly oppose any reform, the newspaper noted.