Following President Trump’s Executive Order, JPI calls for reform informed by data and facts

After campaigning on promises to bring “law and order” back to America, President Donald Trump signed an Executive Order aiming to reduce crime and improve public safety. Reminiscent of the failed policies of the 1990’s, President Trump’s crime approach appears to lack the context that should be considered to inform sound policy decisions. The Justice Policy Institute notes that the only way we can effectively address our public safety challenge is to base our policies on facts, and the data around what truly works to make communities safer. 

While crime in America is still at its lowest levels in decades, some communities face challenges in ensuring all of our neighborhoods are safe. In places that have been disproportionately impacted by violence, such as Chicago, community leaders are calling for solutions that rely on strategies and larger investments in holistic crime prevention that occur outside the justice system. For effective approaches to violence, the President and the Attorney General should rely on what local leaders say they need to enhance community safety: making sound investments treating the root causes of crime, in order to reduce the harm of crime and the number of victims. Taking these effective, holistic approaches to violence prevention will allow us to avoid the failed policies that made America the world’s leader in incarcerating its citizens.

For more information on crime trends and effective approaches to violence prevention, please contact JPI Executive Director Marc Schindler at (202) 215-7070 or JPI Communications Specialist Olivia Martinez at (714) 600-4463.