The first months of the Trump administration have confirmed that criminal justice will remain a contentious issue for the foreseeable future. Trump’s “law and order” rhetoric on the campaign trail has led to significant changes in federal criminal justice policy. At the state and local levels, lawmakers are struggling with the opioid epidemic, overincarceration, and how to work with new federal enforcement goals.

In the current environment, how should legislators tackle the most serious and enduring criminal justice issues? What policies should be implemented? What should officials’ priorities be? To answer these and other questions, experts from courtrooms, universities, law enforcement agencies, and think tanks will gather at the Cato Institute for its third annual criminal justice conference, Criminal Justice at a Crossroads. We hope that you will join us.
 

Opening Remarks

Clark Neily, Vice President for Criminal Justice, Cato Institute

Panel 1: Law Enforcement and the Communities They Serve

Chief Ron Davis (ret.), East Palo Alto, California Police Department and principal consultant, 21st Century Policing Strategies LLC
Chief J. Thomas Manger, Montgomery County, Maryland and president of the Major Cities Chiefs Association
Sgt. Renée J. Mitchell, American Society of Evidence-Based Policing
Moderated by Jonathan Blanks, Research Associate in Cato’s Project on Criminal Justice, Cato Institute