Attorney General William Barr on Tuesday slammed who he called “rogue DAs” — district attorneys — who he says are destroying traditional law enforcement in exchange for brining lesser charges or pleading cases down as part of criminal justice reform.
In a speech to the Major County Sheriffs of America, said the policies of “self-styled ‘social justice’ reformers” are actually leading to higher rates of violent crime in some of the nation’s biggest cities, which is in contrast to an overall trend of less violent crime.
“These DAs think they are helping people, but they end up hurting them. These policies actually lead to greater criminality,” he said. “By allowing young lawbreakers entirely off the hook the first time — or the second time or even the third time — these DAs are potentially placing them on a conveyor to further and heightened criminality.”
The attorney general said it is important to bring accurate charges and pursue the right cases so that some criminals get intervention early enough to keep them out of prison’s revolving doors.
Barr’s criticism comes a day after he warned about a trend in non-enforcement of immigration laws were “certain district attorneys” have begun charing foreign nationals with lesser offenses to ensure they don’t catch the eye of officials at the Department of Homeland Security.
“In pursuing their personal ambitions and misguided notions of equal justice, these district attorneys are systematically violating the rule of law and may even be unlawfully discriminating against American citizens,” said Barr.
He mentioned a case in New York City where a member of the dangerous MS-13 gang was released from custody under new lenient policies, only to see the witness against him murdered a short time later.