Tulsa Police Chief Chuck Jordan is among 130 current and former law enforcement officials nationwide who have joined a new organization aimed at reducing incarceration.
The group, Law Enforcement Leaders to Reduce Crime and Incarceration, includes police chiefs, sheriffs, federal and state prosecutors and other law enforcement leaders from all states and the nation’s largest cities. Jordan is the only member from Oklahoma. Other cities represented include New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas, Washington, Miami and Seattle.
The organization, which announced its formation Tuesday, is calling for an end to unnecessary incarceration while also keeping communities safe. The group is a project of the Brennan Center for Justice at the New York University School of Law.
“Good crime control policy does not involve arresting and imprisoning masses of people. It involves arresting and imprisoning the right people. Arresting and imprisoning low-level offenders prevents us from focusing resources on violent crime,” Garry McCarthy, superintendent of the Chicago Police Department and co-chair of the Law Enforcement Leaders, said in a media release.
Jordan, a 46-year veteran of the Tulsa Police Department who was named chief in 2010, was unavailable for comment Wednesday.
Tulsa Police Department spokesman Leland Ashley confirmed that Jordan has joined the organization, supports its goals and is scheduled to meet with McCarthy on Friday.
Among Law Enforcement Leaders’ priority issues are:
–Increasing alternatives to arrest and prosecution, especially mental health and drug treatment.
–Restoring balance to criminal laws by reducing some nonviolent and non-serious crimes, from felonies to misdemeanors, or doing away with laws mandating overly harsh punishments.
–Reforming mandatory minimum sentence laws and allowing more flexibility in sentencing.
–Strengthening the ties and trust between communities and law enforcement.
“With this group, law enforcement joins the emerging movement calling for an end to unnecessary, widespread incarceration,” the group’s website says.
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