Making sure formerly incarcerated individuals have the opportunity to be productive members of our society is not only the right thing to do, it will also grow our economy. Our criminal justice system must be focused on redemption and rehabilitation.Additionally, women and children are uniquely impacted by the criminal justice system, and the system needs to address their unique needs. And, when a police officer pins on that shield and walks out the door, the officer’s family should know they’ll come home at the end of the day. Black mothers and fathers should feel confident that their children are safe walking the streets of America. Our criminal justice system cannot be just unless we root out the racial, gender, and income-based disparities in the system.These savings should be reinvested in the communities impacted by mass incarceration. Reducing the number of incarcerated individuals will reduce federal spending on incarceration. Instead, they should be diverted to drug courts and treatment. No one should be incarcerated for drug use alone. We can and must reduce the number of people incarcerated in this country while also reducing crime.The Biden Plan for Strengthening America’s Commitment to Justice is based on several core principles: As president, Joe Biden will strengthen America’s commitment to justice and reform our criminal justice system. To build safe and healthy communities, we need to rethink who we’re sending to jail, how we treat those in jail, and how we help them get the health care, education, jobs, and housing they need to successfully rejoin society after they serve their time. Today, too many people are incarcerated in the United States – and too many of them are black and brown.
This is especially true when it comes to our criminal justice system. We have never lived up to it and we haven’t always gotten it right, but we’ve never stopped trying. Equality, equity, justice – these ideas form the American creed.