MPD chief in call for reforms
Top police target ‘mass incarceration’
The police chiefs of Memphis, Nashville and Chattanooga are among 130 top law enforcement officials from across the nation calling for an end to “mass incarceration” in the United States while maintaining public safety.
The officials have formed a group, Law Enforcement Leaders to Reduce Crime and Incarceration, whose top leaders announced the group’s policy agenda — “to push reforms to reduce incarceration and strengthen public safety — Wednesday in Washington.
Its top leaders will meet today at the White House with President Barack Obama, who has called for reduced prison sentences and alternatives to incarceration for nonviolent offenders.
Memphis Police Director Toney Armstrong, Nashville Police Chief Steve Anderson and Chattanooga Police Chief Fred Fletcher are listed as members of the organization, which includes individu-
als who lead or have led law enforcement agencies or associations and current and former prosecutors at the local, state and federal levels of government.
The group’s formation and goals come at a time when Tennessee officials are considering longer prison stays for more serious offenders and for people convicted multiple times for domestic violence, drug trafficking and home burglary.
A 27-member Task Force on Sentencing and Recidivism, appointed by Gov. Bill Haslam last year to examine whether the sentencing system in place since 1989 is adequate today, completed its work in August and delivered its recommendations to the governor. Haslam is considering what he wants to present to the legislature in January.
The state panel recommended “truth in sentencing” for felony convicts, requiring a clear minimum period of incarceration be known to defendants and victims at sentencing. Currently, convicts are given a release-eligibility date that, for typical offenders, is at least 30 percent of the sentence, but good-behavior credits earned in prison and other early-release provisions can shave more time off that. And the task force recommended making a third or subsequent conviction of domestic violence assault a felony rather than the misdemeanor it currently is.
The state panel was composed of judges, prosecutors, law enforcement officials, public defenders, state legislators, local officials and others in the criminal justice system, including Shelby County Mayor Mark Luttrell, District Attorney General Amy Weirich, Shelby County Sheriff Bill Oldham, Knoxville Police Chief David Rausch and state Commissioner of Safety and Homeland Security Bill Gibbons.
Gibbons, who co-chaired the task force, said in August that in addition to “truth in sentencing,” there was a consensus among members “that we need to make smart use of our prisons by using them for the more serious offenders, we need to be smart in coming up with effective alternatives for the less serious offenders and we really need to do a better job in reducing the number of repeat offenders.”
Heads of the nation’s largest police departments are leaders of the new national group of law enforcement officials calling for reforms, including New York City Police Commissioner William Bratton, Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck, Chicago Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy, Houston Police Chief Charles McClelland and Washington D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier.
“Good crime-control policy does not involve arresting and imprisoning masses of people. It involves arresting and imprisoning the right people. Arresting and imprisoning low-level offenders prevents us from focusing resources on violent crime,” Chicago’s McCarthy said. “While some may find it counterintuitive, we know that we can reduce crime and reduce unnecessary arrests and incarceration at the same time.”
The group said its members will work with policymakers to pursue reforms around four policy priorities:
Increasing alternatives to arrest and prosecution, especially mental health and drug treatment. Policies within police departments and prosecutor offices should divert people with mental health and drug addiction issues away from arrest, prosecution, and imprisonment and instead into proper treatment.
Reducing unnecessary severity of criminal laws by reclassifying some felonies to misdemeanors or removing criminal sanctions where appropriate.
Reducing or eliminating mandatory minimum laws that require overly harsh, arbitrary sentences for crimes.
Strengthening ties between law enforcement and communities by promoting strategies that keep the public safe, improve community relations, and increase community engagement.