6/19/2017
Jeff Sessions vows to ramp up drug enforcement and prevention - Business Insider
Jeff Sessions 'appears intent on taking us
back to the 1980s' and the 'War on Drugs'
JEREMY BERKE
MAR. 16, 2017, 4:20 PM
Sessions wants to crack down on drug
offenders
Says violent crime is rising nationwide
Experts say Sessions wants to take us
back to '80s and '90s style punishments
His comments about marijuana may be
the most impactful
Attorney General Jeff Sessions vowed on
Wednesday to ramp up enforcement of drug crimes
to combat what he says is a nationwide increase in
violent crime, a move some experts say channels the
"drug war" era of the 1980s.
Sessions delivered a speech to law enforcement
officers in Richmond, Virginia, where he touted the
effectiveness of Project Exile, a two-decade old
program that enforced mandatory minimum
sentences on felons caught carrying firearms.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions.
Associated Press/Susan Walsh
"All of us who work in law enforcement want to
keep people safe," Sessions said, according to prepared remarks. "That is the heart of our jobs; it is what drives us
every day. So we are all disturbed to learn that violent crime is on the rise in America, especially in our cities."
While Sessions admitted that crime rates in the US were at "historic" lows, he pointed out that, according to the
FBI, incidents of violent crime rose by more than 3% between 2014 and 2015. Sessions tied this increase in
violence to the "unprecedented epidemic" of heroin and opioid abuse.
"My fear is that this surge in violent crime is not a 'blip,' but the start of a dangerous new trend," Sessions said. "I
worry that we risk losing the hard-won gains that have made America a safer and more prosperous place."
Sessions outlined three main ways to fight the "scourge" of drugs: criminal enforcement, treatment, and
prevention. He highlighted prevention campaigns — including Nancy Reagan's "Just say No" efforts — as
effective tools for bringing down rates of drug use.
The results of "Just Say No," and similar abstinence-oriented prevention campaigns like D.A.R.E, are mixed. A
2007 study from the University of Missouri, St. Louis found that the programs are mostly over-funded and
ineffective.
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6/19/2017
Jeff Sessions vows to ramp up drug enforcement and prevention - Business Insider
However, a 2011 study, cited by Scientific American, from the University of Texas School of Public Health found
that certain abstinence programs can be effective, provided they reinforce the lessons over a multi-year time
period.
Taking it back to the '80's
A Drug Enforcement Administration officer patrols outside of a medical clinic in Little Rock, Ark.,
Wednesday, May 20, 2015.
AP Photo/Danny Johnston
Criminal justice and drug policy experts say that Sessions' focus on cracking down on drug offenders is an unwise
strategy borne out of the "War on Drugs" era of the '80s and '90s.
Michael Collins, the deputy director of the Drug Policy Alliance, called Sessions' emphasis on sentencing and
enforcement as a response to the opioid epidemic "deeply disconcerting."
"He appears intent on taking us back to the 1980's with his drug war rhetoric," Collins told Business
Insider. "Locking up more people exacerbates the problem."
Marc Schindler, the executive director of the Justice Policy Institute, criticized Sessions support of Project Exile,
which he called "political will" to remove black and brown people from communities. The program heavily
penalizes gun offenders, according to Schindler, but does nothing to stem the flow of guns into cities and
neighborhoods.
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6/19/2017
Jeff Sessions vows to ramp up drug enforcement and prevention - Business Insider
"The approach to addressing violence in our communities being put forth by AG Sessions is not based on
research, and lacks the context that should be considered to inform sound policy decisions," Schindler told
Business Insider in an email.
The research on Project Exile is far from clear. FiveThirtyEight has the rundown: A 2003 study found that in
Richmond, Virginia — where Sessions gave his speech — the city would have experienced a similar reduction in
homicide rates with or without Exile.
But, a 2009 study found evidence supporting Exile's efficacy. Among the sample group, cities with high levels of
federal prosecution for federal gun crimes experienced a 13% decrease in violent crimes, compared to an 8%
increase in cities that didn't, even when controlling for other factors like incarceration rates and poverty.
However, "none of this stuff is as neat as even the peer-reviewed publications put it," John Klofas, a professor of
criminal justice at the Rochester Institute of Technology told FiveThirtyEight.
John Pfaff, a law professor at Fordham University in New York who recently published a book on the causes of
mass incarceration, told Business Insider in an email that Sessions is probably not trying to specifically revive the
"War on Drugs," but rather looking to justify "harsh punitive responses to crime more broadly." Incarceration
would be an easy sell politically for Sessions and the Trump Administration, even if its an inefficient way of
controlling crime, he added.
"Sessions' insistence that the recent uptick in violent crime is not just a blip but the start of a longer trend (which,
to be fair, could be the case — but also may not be so at all) seems to be part of a rhetorical push to make nonprison reforms riskier to adopt," Pfaff said.
A variety of medicinal marijuana buds in jars are pictured at Los Angeles Patients & Caregivers Group
dispensary in West Hollywood.
Thomson Reuters
Sessions vs. marijuana
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6/19/2017
Jeff Sessions vows to ramp up drug enforcement and prevention - Business Insider
Sessions honed in on his opposition to legalizing marijuana on Wednesday, saying that he "realizes this may be
unfashionable in a time of growing tolerance of drug use."
Pfaff suggested that Session's comment on marijuana may have "the biggest short-run impact."
Sessions railed against medical marijuana, and the notion that increasing access to the drug can be a tool to help
counter opioid and heroin addiction. Research has shown that in states that have legalized medical marijuana,
addiction and opioid overdose rates have dropped, reports Business Insider Kevin Loria.
Though he's opposed to marijuana legalization, Sessions did tell reporters after his remarks that he may keep the
Obama-era Cole Memo — which directs the Justice Department to place a low priority on prosecuting legal
marijuana businesses that comply with state laws — though with some modifications, reports MassRoots' Tom
Angell.
Sessions indicated that the federal government may not have the ability to enforce federal marijuana laws in
states that have legalized.
Mason Tvert, the communications director for the Marijuana Policy Project, told Business Insider in an email
that Sessions' comments do not seem like a "call to shut down" licensed and regulated marijuana businesses.
"It sounds more like a call to go after unregulated marijuana producers and dealers who are operating in the
illicit market," Tvert said.
http://www.businessinsider.com/jeff-sessions-vows-to-ramp-up-drug-enforcement-and-prevention-2017-3
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JUSTICE NEWS
Attorney General Jeff Sessions Delivers Remarks on Efforts to Combat Violent Crime and Restore Public
Safety Before Federal, State and Local Law Enforcement
Richmond, VA ~ Wednesday, March 15, 2017
Remarks as Prepared for Delivery
Good morning, everyone. I want to begin by thanking Dana [Boente] for coming down to Richmond and introducing
me today. Dana is currently wearing two hats, serving as acting Deputy Attorney General while also continuing to
serve as your U.S. Attorney here in the Eastern District of Virginia. I’m grateful for his outstanding service in both
roles.
I also want to welcome the many federal, state and local law enforcement leaders who have joined us. Thank you
for everything you and your people do. I look forward to meeting with you this morning.
All of us who work in law enforcement want to keep people safe. That is the heart of our jobs; it is what drives us
every day. So we are all disturbed to learn that violent crime is on the rise in America, especially in our cities. And
that is what I want to talk about with you today.
First, we should keep in mind some context. Overall, crime rates in our country remain near historic lows. Murder
rates are half of what they were in 1980. The rate of violent crime has fallen by almost half from its peak.
The people of Richmond have seen this progress firsthand. Since 1995, murder and violent crime rates in
Richmond have fallen by two-thirds. You have watched neighborhoods that were once in the grip of gangs and
drugs transformed into places where kids can play and parents can take walks after sunset without fear.
In the past four decades, we have won great victories against crime in America. This happened under leadership
from both political parties, and thanks above all to the work of prosecutors and good police using data-driven
methods and professional training. Hundreds of thousands of Americans are alive today as a result.
But in the last two years, we’ve seen warning signs that this progress is now at risk.
The latest FBI data tell us that from 2014 to 2015, the violent crime rate in the U.S. increased by more than 3
percent – the largest one-year increase since 1991. The murder rate increased 10 percent – the largest increase
since 1968. And all of this is taking place amid an unprecedented epidemic of heroin and opioid abuse.
If this was just a one-year spike in violent crime, we might not worry too much. But the preliminary data for the first
half of 2016 confirmed these trends. The number of violent crimes in the first half of last year was more than 5
percent higher than the same period in 2015. The number of murders was also up 5 percent, and aggravated
assaults rose as well. Since 2014, the murder rate has gone up in 27 of our country’s 35 largest cities. Homicide
rates in Chicago, Baltimore, Milwaukee and Memphis have returned to levels not seen in two decades. Here in
Richmond, the preliminary murder total for 2016 was 44 percent higher than the year before.
These numbers should trouble all of us. Behind all the data are real people whose safety and lives are at stake –
people like the good folks whose stories I will hear later this morning. Each victim of this recent spike in violent
crime is someone’s parent, or child, or friend. And every loss of a young life to guns or drugs is a tragedy we must
work to prevent.
My fear is that this surge in violent crime is not a “blip,” but the start of a dangerous new trend. I worry that we risk
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losing the hard-won gains that have made America a safer and more prosperous place.
While we can hope for the best, we can’t afford to be complacent. When crime rates move in the wrong direction,
they can move quickly.
We know this, because those of us above a certain age have lived it. In the early 1960s, crime began to rise in our
country. By 1973, crime rates in almost every category had doubled over their levels just a decade before. As the
’70s went on, levels of crime and violence that we once deemed unacceptably high became the “new normal” in
America.
I lived through that dark time in our history. I dealt with its consequences every day as a prosecutor. And I can
assure you: We do not want to go back to those days. We must act decisively at all levels – federal, state and local
– to reverse this rise in violent crime and keep our people safe.
Last month the President gave us clear direction, issuing three executive orders that direct the federal government
to reduce crime and restore public safety. This task will be a top priority of the Department of Justice during my time
as Attorney General. I’d like to talk briefly about how we’re tackling this challenge.
First, we’re making sure the federal government focuses our resources and efforts on this surge in violent
crime. Two weeks ago, I announced the formation of a Department of Justice Task Force on Crime Reduction and
Public Safety. It includes crime reduction experts from throughout the Department of Justice, including the heads of
the FBI, the ATF, the DEA and the U.S. Marshals Service. The task force will evaluate everything we are doing at
the federal level.
Second: We need to use every lawful tool we have to get the most violent offenders off our streets.
In recent years, we have seen a significant shift in the priority given to prosecuting firearms offenders at the federal
level. This trend will end. This Department of Justice will systematically prosecute criminals who use guns in
committing crimes.
Last week, I sent a memo to all our federal prosecutors, urging them to work closely with their federal, state, and
local law enforcement partners to target the most violent offenders in their districts. Working together, we will
determine which venue – federal or state – would best take these criminals off our streets immediately, and ensure
they are properly punished for their crimes.
Here in Richmond, you have given us an excellent model for how we can lock up violent criminals and reduce
crime.
During the spike in violent crime in the late ’80s and early ’90s, Richmond consistently had one of the top ten percapita murder rates among American cities. In response, federal prosecutors worked with state and local law
enforcement in 1997 to launch an innovative program called Project Exile. Its goal was to deter felons from carrying
firearms, and to take off the streets those who were mostly likely to commit gun violence: criminals with guns.
Over the decade that followed, murders and armed robberies in Richmond declined dramatically. A study published
in the journal Criminology & Public Policy credited Project Exile with the reduction in gun homicides in Richmond.
This Department of Justice will encourage more efforts like Project Exile in cities across America – coordinated
strategies that bring together all levels of law enforcement to reduce gun crime and make our cities safer.
Third: To turn back this rising tide of violent crime, we need to confront the heroin and opioid crisis in our nation –
and dismantle the transnational cartels that bring drugs and violence into our neighborhoods.
Our nation is in the throes of a heroin and opioid epidemic. Overdose deaths more than tripled between 2010 and
2014. According to the CDC, about 140 Americans on average now die from a drug overdose each day. That
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means every three weeks, we are losing as many American lives to drug overdoses as we lost in the 9/11 attacks.
Illegal drugs are flooding across our southern border and into cities across our country, bringing violence, addiction,
and misery. We have also seen an increase in the trafficking of new, low-cost heroin by Mexican drug cartels
working with local street gangs. As the market for this heroin expands, gangs fight for territory and new customers
and neighborhoods are caught in the crossfire.
There are three main ways to fight the scourge of drugs: criminal enforcement, treatment and prevention.
Criminal enforcement is essential to stop both the transnational cartels that ship drugs into our country, and the
thugs and gangs who use violence and extortion to move their product. One of the President’s executive orders
directed the Justice Department to dismantle these organizations and gangs – and we will do just that.
Treatment programs are also vital. But treatment often comes too late to save people from addiction or death.
So we need to focus on the third way we can fight drug use: preventing people from ever taking drugs in the first
place.
I realize this may be an unfashionable belief in a time of growing tolerance of drug use. But too many lives are at
stake to worry about being fashionable. I reject the idea that America will be a better place if marijuana is sold in
every corner store. And I am astonished to hear people suggest that we can solve our heroin crisis by legalizing
marijuana – so people can trade one life-wrecking dependency for another that’s only slightly less awful. Our nation
needs to say clearly once again that using drugs will destroy your life.
In the ’80s and ’90s, we saw how campaigns stressing prevention brought down drug use and addiction. We can do
this again. Educating people and telling them the terrible truth about drugs and addiction will result in better
choices. We can reduce the use of drugs, save lives and turn back the surge in crime that inevitably follows in the
wake of increased drug abuse.
Finally: The federal government alone cannot meet the challenge of violent crime and drugs – so we need to
protect and support our brave men and women in law enforcement. About 85 percent of all law enforcement
officers in our nation are not federal, but state and local. These are the men and women on the front lines – the
ones doing most of the tough and often dangerous work that keeps our neighborhoods safe.
Unfortunately, in recent years law enforcement as a whole has been unfairly maligned and blamed for the
unacceptable deeds of a few bad actors. Too many of our officers, deputies, and troopers believed the political
leadership of this country abandoned them. Amid this intense public scrutiny and criticism, their morale has gone
down, while the number of police officers killed in the line of duty has gone up.
Many of you who are law enforcement leaders have also told us that in this age of viral videos and targeted killings
of police, something has changed in policing. Some law enforcement personnel are more reluctant to get out of
their squad cars and do the proactive, up-close police work that builds trust and prevents violent crime. In some
cities, arrests have fallen even as murder rates have surged.
This is a terrible place to be, because we know that tough and professional law enforcement can make a real
difference. It can reduce crime and save lives. We’ve seen it happen in our country over the past four decades.
To turn back rising crime, we must rely heavily on all of you in state and local law enforcement to lead the way – and
you must know that you have our steadfast support. The federal government should use its money, research, and
expertise to help you figure out what is happening and determine the best ways to fight crime. We should
strengthen partnerships between federal and state and local officers. And we should encourage the proactive
policing that keeps our neighborhoods safe. This Department of Justice will do just that.
The new challenge of violent crime in our nation is real – and the task that lies before us is clear. We need to resist
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the temptation to ignore or downplay this crisis. Instead, we must tackle it head-on, to ensure justice and safety for
all Americans.
We will enforce our laws and put bad men behind bars. We will fight the scourge of drug abuse. And we will
support the brave men and women of law enforcement, as they work day and night to protect us.
Together, let us act to meet this challenge, so that our children will not look back and say that we let slip from our
grasp all we had done to make America a safer place.
Thank you for having me here in Richmond today. I look forward to talking with you all and learning from you.
Speaker:
Attorney General Jeff Sessions
Topic(s):
Opioids
Violent Crime
Component(s):
Office of the Attorney General
Updated December 11, 2017
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