The country has a new attorney general and a new set of priorities for criminal justice in the United States. Jeffrey Sessions of Alabama was sworn in as attorney general on Feb. 9, 2017, and on the same day, President Trump issued three executive orders dealing with our country’s law enforcement. The clear direction of the new administration is toward the federalization of the prosecution of what has traditionally been state crime. Federalism requires the prosecution of most violent crime at the state level. We are concerned about the direction the Department of Justice is now being ordered to follow: a law-and-order approach highlighting gangs, crimes of violence, and violence against law enforcement officers. We are concerned because all three of these areas should be the focus of state and local law enforcement, not the U.S. attorney general. We urge our state authorities to make sure that Connecticut’s criminal justice system is not diverted from its mission by federal interference, and to keep community in the forefront of their efforts.
Connecticut’s criminal justice system has made significant inroads in the recent past. Community policing has expanded into community prosecution. Social workers assist public defenders in their duties. Both parole and juvenile justice reform has been effective; and the protection of women, children, and elderly from violence has been a high priority. Police and prosecutors receive forensic training enabling them to solve and sometimes prevent violent crime. It is important that Connecticut keep on this road forward, because community safety starts and ends at the local level, not in Washington. It always has.
