Transition

The editors of the Washington Post have published what I wouldn’t be surprised to become a growth genre, the “Trump was awful but some of the things his administration did weren’t so bad” piece. In this case it’s the recommendations of President Trump’s Commission on Law Enforcement and the Administration of Justice:

WE DID not have high expectations for the commission that President Trump appointed to “study crime . . . and how we can restore public confidence in law enforcement to its rightful place.” Its membership was skewed, with only past and present law enforcement officials represented, and its proceedings were secretive and closed. A federal judge deemed the group in violation of federal law and ordered its findings to include a prominent disclaimer. So it’s a pleasant surprise, and an indication that law enforcement professionals and their critics can find some common ground, that its final report includes some useful recommendations. The Biden administration should build on them while undertaking a more expansive review of the country’s criminal justice system.

What were the recommendations of which they approved?

To help restore confidence in police, the committee recommended that every state require police departments to have an independent agency investigate all fatal shootings and other serious use-of-force incidents and make improvements in how complaints from citizens are handled. Also noteworthy were proposals to allow officers to issue summonses for low-level offenses instead of making arrests, adjust felony thresholds for nonviolent offenses, provide mental health and substance abuse screening for jail inmates, and offer more help to crime victims.

They conclude:

The report’s complete silence on key issues of systemic racism and mistrust in law enforcement unfortunately has helped undermine its useful recommendations, with some critics suggesting the work simply be discarded. That’s shortsighted. Instead, the report — along with the thoughtful conclusions of the prior Task Force on 21st Century Policing commissioned by the Obama administration — should serve as starting points for the soon-to-be Biden administration as it tackles the critical questions facing U.S. criminal justice.

There is a tremendous temptation among incoming administrations, particularly those which have billed themselves in one way or another as “reform administrations” which characterizes both the Biden Administration and the Trump Administration, to attempt to do everything the opposite way in which it was done in the previous administration. It should be resisted. Just as being the “un-Obama” was impossible it is likely that being the “un-Trump” will be equally difficult.

You can deviate from the style of your predecessor but events have shown that there are reasons, whether political, geo-political, or otherwise, which guide policies and they tend to have considerable inertia.

1 comment… add one
  • steve Link

    I liked the LA Times editorial on this better, but they both note that there are some good ideas in the report. I thought some of the ideas about mental health were good. Most police just dont have very much mental health training/expertise and I am not really sure they should.

    https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2020-12-24/editorial-failed-trump-policing-commission-report-includes-a-few-useful-nuggets

    However, on process, I hope no-one ever replicates what trump did with this commission. Having it done in secret and having the commission composed only of current and former law enforcement officials on many levels. (As an aside one of the reasons I disliked the Clintion attempt at health care reform was the secrecy. Granted, it leaked like a sieve, there should seldom be a need for secrecy with these kinds of commissions.

    Steve

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