Nearly four years after the death of George Floyd, criminal justice reforms are being rolled back across the country. Critics warn the new laws could harm black communities

Politicians in Louisiana, San Francisco, Oregon and Washington hope a wave of new proposals and laws to toughen the fight on crime will prevent crime by reversing criminal justice reforms implemented years ago.

Political leaders of each major political parties consider that crime is increasing and the technique to solve this problem is to toughen the fight against crime. But experts say “tough on crime” laws are more practical at increasing the number of people serving time in prison without evidence of their effectiveness in deterring crime. This is, of course, a change of course from the dynamics that followed the police killing of George Floyd and led to criminal justice reforms.

In the wake of Floyd’s death, states have passed a whole bunch of reform bills, including chokehold bans and other use-of-force guidelines, and a number of other cities have promised to speculate in community programs and crisis response teams to help with behavioral health calls.

Currently, politicians in some states have launched efforts to provide more power to police, toughen criminal penalties, make drug treatment a condition of receiving welfare advantages, and repeal other laws that allow courts to go after younger people.

For example, Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry recently blamed a law signed by the former governor in 2017 for “rampant crime,” based on his March 1 opinion piece published in the Shreveport Times. Lawmakers there passed laws during a special session on crime, including a measure that now allows courts to prosecute 17-year-olds as young adults, based on the Plaquemine Post South.

The Republican governor has approved efforts to expand the diversity of capital punishment methods and limit eligibility for parole and early release. Critics similar to the ACLU of Louisiana testified against the two bills, arguing they “were expensive and unlikely to reduce crime at this time,” USA Today he wrote. House Democratic Caucus Chairman Matthew Willard of New Orleans also made similar arguments, saying they will not stop crime before it happens.

Shari Stone-Mediatore, co-founder of the advocacy group Parole Illinois and a professor at Ohio Wesleyan University, told USA Today that these stringent laws aim to combat crime by stigmatizing criminals quite than addressing underlying problems.

This approach results in mass incarceration, destroys families and communities, and disproportionately affects people of color, she said. “This is not a productive way to deal with social problems” similar to drug addiction and unemployment, Stone-Mediatore said.

Meanwhile, lawmakers in San Francisco voted on two proposals giving police additional powers to pursue suspects in vehicles, expanding the use of drones and surveillance cameras and requiring addiction treatment for welfare recipients.

Such solutions were pushed for by Democratic mayor London Breed, who will run for re-election in November. As reported by the Associated Press, her opponents say she has failed to regulate drug crimes, theft and vandalism.

Likewise, based on news reports, D.C. Council members have approved a set of public safety measures that include restoring “drug-free zones” to combat drug-related loitering.

In Oregon, similar issues emerged in the state Legislature as lawmakers gained support for a bill to repeal portions of Measure 110, a 2020 voter-approved measure aimed toward decriminalizing drug possession.

Opponents say restoring criminal penalties wouldn’t only overwhelm the criminal justice system but would unfairly impact blacks and Latinos in Oregon, the Statesman Journal reported.

Many of the recent tough-on-crime laws essentially roll back some of the most controversial reforms “rather than completely rejecting a balanced approach,” Adam Gelb, president and CEO of the nonpartisan think tank Council on Criminal Justice, told USA Today.

“It’s a stunning turnaround, especially so soon after a wave of national protests against the system for being too harsh,” he said. “I think there is a very small chance that we will fully return to the idea that we can arrest and punish while keeping people safe.”

Overall, reports show that the United States stays the leader in the total number of people incarcerated worldwide, with greater than 2 million prisoners nationwide. This figure represents roughly 25 percent of the world’s total prison population.

A Republican in Tennessee is pushing a controversial bill that addresses local government regulations. While the bill could seem easy, it’s consistent with a recent Memphis City Council ordinance prohibiting law enforcement from initiating arrests just for minor offenses, News Channel 5 in Nashville reported. According to FOX 13, the Tennessee Senate passed a bill on Thursday that might repeal a city ordinance blocking pretextual traffic stops.

The move was prompted by the tragic death of Tire Nichols while being stopped by Memphis police following a routine traffic stop.

Nichols’ family, who was present in the capital on Monday, strongly opposed this bill. “I’m not going to pretend to be an expert on politics,” said RowVaughn Wells, Nichols’ mother. “We cannot fathom how a local ordinance, supported by the community, can be questioned and undermined in this way.”