Congress Calls For Review Of Entire Criminal Justice System

U.S. Senator Gary Peters (D-Michigan) is co-authoring a plan to review the nation’s criminal justice system.

U.S. Senator Gary Peters of Michigan is proposing the creation of a commission to review the nation’s entire criminal justice system.

The commission would have a very broad mandate.

It would be charged with examining the justice system across the country at all levels of government and proposing improvements in police departments, prisons and the courts.

A bi-partisan group of U.S. senators, including Peters, are introducing legislation to create a National Criminal Justice Commission.

Peters says recent shootings in Ferguson, Missouri and Baltimore show that easing tensions between law enforcement and the neighborhoods they serve must be a vital component of the review.

He said, “We have got communities that don’t feel trust with law enforcement. Law enforcement doesn’t feel trust from the community. It’s a two-way street. And that’s something that we have to address in this commission. And certainly this commission will be very diverse, represent a diversity of views.”

Peters says it would be the first review of the entire criminal justice system in half-a-century.  

Author

  • Quinn Klinefelter is a Senior News Editor at 101.9 WDET. In 1996, he was literally on top of the news when he interviewed then-Senator Bob Dole about his presidential campaign and stepped on his feet.