Our Mission - Law Enforcement Leaders

Our Mission

Law Enforcement Leaders brings together nearly 200 current and former police chiefs, sheriffs, federal and state prosecutors, attorneys general, and correction officials from across the country committed to reducing both crime and incarceration. Our members have multiple decades of law enforcement experience among them. Based on that collective experience, we know that we can reduce unnecessary arrests, prosecutions, and incarceration without sacrificing public safety. LEL advocates for data-driven, innovative reforms that reduce recidivism, strengthen community relationships, and improve oversight and accountability to build a fairer and more effective criminal justice system.

LEL was launched at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. in October 2015 as a project of the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law. Since then, we have championed criminal justice reforms at the federal, state, and local levels while also shaping the national conversation surrounding public safety. With our experiences at the forefront of policing, prosecution, and corrections, we are leading the charge for a smarter, stronger, and more equitable criminal justice system.

Priority Issues

Reducing the Scope of the Criminal Justice System

Reducing the reach of the criminal justice system is vital for restoring balance within our criminal laws, significantly reducing excessive sentences, and addressing racial disparities.

Promoting Safer and Healthier Communities

Implementing evidence-based strategies and data-driven approaches that prevent crime, provide treatment and supportive services, reduce violence, and end cycles of recidivism are essential for protecting and uplifting our communities.

Improving Training and Prioritizing Community Relationships

Improving the training and well-being of police, prosecutors, and corrections staff is critical for building cultures of accountability and trust within agencies and with communities.

Why it Matters

Extensive reliance on prison as a punishment does not keep us safe. Imprisoning people unnecessarily has little crime control benefit, especially for nonviolent offenses. Research shows that in some cases incarceration can worsen recidivism by removing people from social supports, employment and educational opportunities, and strengthening criminal networks. Laws mandating arrests and imprisonment for low-level offenses hinder law enforcement by diverting time and resources away from preventing and investigating more serious and violent crimes.

Our current system is not only ineffective but also expensive, costing taxpayers $89 billion annually. Some of these funds can often be better used on more targeted law enforcement practices, reentry services, and mental health and drug treatment programs.

The cost to our communities is even greater. Unnecessary incarceration disproportionately affects marginalized communities, worsening racial and economic disparities. One in three Black men will be incarcerated in their lifetime, and 60 percent of people reentering society face long-term unemployment.

Bipartisan efforts across the country have come together in recent years to reduce prison populations. But more needs to be done. By using our experience to support reform, Law Enforcement Leaders works to reduce unnecessary incarceration around the country while continuing to protect public safety.