Law Enforcement Leaders to Reduce Crime and Incarceration released a five-part agenda last Monday outlining specific steps the new Administration can take to promote public safety. The group urged President Donald Trump to embrace policies that reduce incarceration rates while strengthening efforts to fight violent crime, after he issued several executive orders on crime in early February.

In a statement announcing the agenda, the group’s founding chairman Ronal Serpas applauded the public safety focus of the president, and asked the administration to embrace the lessons of the past.

“Law and order comes best when we have smart policing. It need not be a synonym for unnecessary arrests, prosecutions, and imprisonment. We know that doesn’t make us safer,” said Serpas, the former New Orleans Police Superintendent. He penned the foreword to the report with former Dallas Police Chief David Brown, the group’s new co-chairman.

Fighting Crime and Strengthening Criminal Justice: An Agenda for the New Administration outlines five concrete steps President Trump and Attorney General Jeff Sessions can take as part of a robust anti-crime agenda: prioritize fighting violent crime, enact federal sentencing reform, increase mental health and drug treatment, bolster community policing, and expand recidivism reduction programs in prison. The group also requested an in-person meeting with President Trump and House Speaker Paul Ryan to discuss public safety policies.

Read the press release here.

David Brown, the recently retired Dallas Police Chief, is the new co-chair of Law Enforcement Leaders to Reduce Crime and Incarceration.

Brown joins co-chair Ronal Serpas as the head of the group, which unites nearly 200 current and former police chiefs, sheriffs, federal and state prosecutors, and attorneys general from all 50 states to urge for a reduction in both crime and incarceration. Brown was a 33-year veteran of the Dallas police department until his retirement in September. He rose through the ranks from a patrol officer to become the chief of police in 2010.

“There is unprecedented conservative support on this issue from groups such as the American Conservative Union and Law Enforcement Leaders to Reduce Crime and Incarceration,” said Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin (R) regarding the proposed agenda. “Meanwhile, smart, conservative states such as Texas, Utah, Georgia, Kentucky and South Dakota are already headed this direction and these states have seen better public safety outcomes by pursuing similar reforms.”

“We’re thrilled to have David join our leadership,” said Serpas. “He commands deep respect in our community after dedicating three decades to protecting the citizens of Dallas, where he developed a national reputation as a strong leader who prioritized strengthening police-community relations. His insight will be a great asset to our work advocating for commonsense policies that will help law enforcement reduce both crime and incarceration and, ultimately, make our communities safer.”