Why some in law enforcement want to bring down mass incarceration
More than 130 top law enforcement officials are mobilizing to join an increasingly popular call to cut down on the nation鈥檚 incarceration rates and find another solution to lowering crime.
The group, called Law Enforcement Leaders to Reduce Crime and Incarceration, has brought together a broad coalition of according to The New York Times. It will make its formal debut in Washington D.C. on Wednesday.
This new coalition of police and prosecutors is looking to reduce the number of criminal laws, as well as end mandatory minimum prison sentences. While it joins the calls of lawmakers across the country, the organization also 鈥渞epresents an for dozens of law enforcement officials who have sustained careers based upon tough-on-crime strategies,鈥� reports the Times.
Just a few years ago, criminologists were crediting America's drop in crime to high incarceration rates. But today, a growing number of experts are playing a different tune.
鈥淥ur experience has been, and in some ways it's counter-intuitive, that you really can ,鈥� Ronal Serpas, committee co-chair and former New Orleans police chief, told National Public Radio.
New York City Police Commissioner William Bratton told the Times that city law enforcement agencies 鈥渨ere well ahead of the curve in understanding that you can鈥檛 arrest your way out of the problem.鈥�
In some ways, the group is making official what a number of police departments are already doing to help rebuild public trust, which currently sits at its lowest level in decades.
Back in his hometown earlier this year, Chicago Police Supt. Garry McCarthy praised what he said were record low crime rates despite a decline in arrests, according to The Chicago Tribune.
鈥淲e've made over the last two years," Supt. McCarthy, who will , said in May. 鈥淚 told you mass incarceration is a huge issue in the community and rightfully so. But at the end of the day, it's not about arresting everybody. It's not about filling up the jails. It's about arresting the right person at the right place [for] the right reason at the right time.鈥�
Prosecutors are also hopping on board. 鈥淭his is a in America,鈥� Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance wrote in an op-ed for The Huffington Post on Tuesday. 鈥淗ow do we promote safety at the same time as fairness? Today we are announcing the launch of a national prosecutorial think tank designed to answer that very question.鈥�
On Thursday, members of the group will greet perhaps the nation鈥檚 most famous聽: President Obama. 聽
Mr. Obama will spend the coming weeks for the reduction of incarceration rates, reports The Associated Press. His administration is considering rewarding prisoners with shorter sentences on the condition that they complete certain programs.
In addition to meeting with the police chiefs, the president will address more than in the world鈥檚 largest such gathering next Tuesday, the Tribune reports.
