Racism and racial injustice is systemic and affects every aspect of life, including our criminal justice system. We must support strategies that reduce recidivism, increase public safety, decarceral approaches to low-level and juvenile crime, including changes to mandatory minimum sentences for non-violent defendants.

Communities of color are over policed, resulting in reduced access to a myriad of rights and increased consequences due to higher rates of incarceration. We need a police force that involves community oversight measures and greater police accountability, and more officers who come from the same community and look like our residents and neighbors. A civilian oversight commission that actually has a say in providing disciplinary action to police officers, and a registry that more effectively tracks infractions by police should be central to changing conceptions on how to stop police brutality before it happens.