Criminal justice reform has taken a prominent place in the 2016 presidential campaign. But the two major party candidates are talking about the issue in starkly different ways.
Donald Trump talks about the need to restore “law and order” and to stop the “war on cops.” In an August speech devoted to the topic, he said, “The war on our police must end and it must end now. The war on police is a war against all peaceful citizens.”
Hillary Clinton, meanwhile, has touted reforms that would reduce prison sentences for nonviolent offenders and close racial disparities in sentencing. Clinton’s campaign website says she would commit $1 billion in her first budget to tackle the implicit bias that she says exists in police departments.
A new Gallup poll finds that this divide in addressing criminal justice isn’t exclusive to the candidates. It is reflected in the public as well. Forty-nine percent of the public believes strengthening law and order through more police and greater enforcement of the laws would be best. Forty-three percent thinks reducing bias against minorities in the criminal justice system by reforming court and police practices is the best policy.
Not surprisingly, Republicans overwhelmingly favor the law and order approach, while most Democrats prefer prioritizing bias reduction. A slim majority of independent voters favor focusing on bias. Also not surprisingly, a majority of whites (56 percent) favor law and order while most non-whites (57 percent) prefer to focus on bias.
These partisan differences suggest that a Republican-led Congress would have a difficult time working with a President Clinton to enact reforms. But that might not be so, because the two rival principles here don’t have to be mutually exclusive. House Speaker Paul Ryan is committed to passing a reform package that addresses institutional race disparities in the justice system. And doing so might be easier once Trump is no longer the leader of the Republican Party.
Daniel Allott is deputy commentary editor for the Washington Examiner
