NCJ Number
80796
Journal
Police Magazine Volume: 5 Issue: 1 Dated: (January 1982) Pages: 34-40
Date Published
1982
Length
7 pages
Annotation
The Reagan Administration's anticrime program is described and assessed.
Abstract
The overall anticrime strategy of the Reagan Administration is to undertake policy revisions that involve no increase in spending but which are viewed as important in increasing law enforcement effectiveness. The Justice Department will attempt to modify or abolish the 'exclusionary rule,' which is the group of legal precedents that forbid the introduction of illegally obtained evidence at trial. Various organizations, led by the American Bar Association, are already lobbying to prevent the passage of any legislation that would revise or abolish the exclusionary rule, arguing that any change in the exclusionary rule would be both unconstitutional and impractical. Further, data indicate that only 1.3 percent of the Federal cases over a significant period saw evidence excluded as a result of filing a fourth amendment motion. Should the Administration prevail in its efforts to revise or abolish the exclusionary rule, extensive litigation is certain to follow. Also, legislation will be introduced to permit the use of preventive detention for Federal defendants considered dangerous. The States will be encouraged to adopt similar laws. This legislation has broad support in Congress and among lobbyists. The American Bar Association, however, supports pretrial detention only after a defendant, once released, commits another crime or violates conditions of release. Greater cooperation between the FBI and the Drug Enforcement Administration to counter international drug traffic will be emphasized. In the civil rights area, the Justice Department will no longer issue hiring goals and timetables to remedy employment discrimination against women and minorities. It will emphasize aggressive recruiting of women and minorities. The prosecution of police brutality will continue to have a strong focus.