Justice Dept Reviews Consent Decrees

Yesterday, it was reported that Attorney General Jeff Sessions is reviewing previous and pending consent decrees between the Department of Justice and local police departments around the country.  My view is that both the Left and Right misdiagnose the problem.  The Right does not really appreciate the scope of the police misconduct problem, but they’re right that it is primarily the responsibility of local officials to address the problems that do exist.  The Left knows scope of the problem, but too often seeks federal intervention which does not have a great track record and has the enabling effect of letting local officials escape accountability for their fecklessness.

Note this headline from today’s Business Insider:   “Police departments vow to move forward on reform despite Sessions’ move to roll it back.”  You mean departments are going to clean up their act if the Trump administration takes no action?  Perfect!

I elaborate more on this policy matter here.