CRIMINAL JUSTICE

JOHN C. ARNOLD, JR.

CHAIRPERSON

The Committee on Criminal Justice shall: (1) seek to eliminate harsh and unfair sentencing practices that are responsible for mass incarceration and racial disparities in the prison system; (2) support and seek to increase trust and public safety by advancing effective law enforcement policies; (3) fight for the restoration of the voting rights of formerly incarcerated people and the removal of barriers to employment; (4) elevate the voices of crime victim survivors in order to identify and advance systemic breakdowns existing in the criminal justice system that perpetuate crime; (5) resolve to end the “war on drugs’” or its disproportionate collateral consequences harm communities of color; (6) seek the institution and availability of alternatives to incarceration including education, employment and mental health services; (7) eliminate zero tolerance policies implemented in our schools which are keeping kids out of the classroom and putting them on a path from the schoolhouse to the jailhouse: (8) investigate programs implemented in our local law enforcement agencies which derail from their main purpose of safety and order to conduct the work of federal agencies for which they do not have the capacity; and (9) seek budget modifications in states where incarceration receives more funding that education.