Eleven Reasons Why Criminal Justice Practitioners Should NOT Vote for Trump in 2024

In the United States, most law enforcement, corrections, probation, and parole officers typically have conservative beliefs and tend to vote for Republican political candidates.

Why? It’s mainly because of the party’s focus on law and order, support of criminal justice funding, and tougher crime policies.

But this upcoming presidential election (Tuesday November 5, 2024), most criminal justice practitioners should think twice about voting for Republican candidates and especially for former President Donald Trump.

Why is this the case?

1. During Trump’s presidency, federal law enforcement officers were deployed in response to protests and disturbances taking place in urban areas without local government consent, undermining local authority.

2. When he was in office, and particularly at the very end of his term, Trump issued pardons to individuals with close personal ties or political connections. This undermines legal accountability, and erodes the principle that justice should be blind and fair for all.

3. Both Trump’s rhetoric and policies have been criticized for marginalizing minority groups. Criminal justice professionals who prioritize diversity, equity, and inclusion within their ranks, and towards the people they serve,  see this as detrimental to those efforts, leading to sanctioning racial profiling, and greater mistrust between law enforcement and diverse communities.

4. Trump repeatedly claims that he is above the law, and experienced several serious legal nonpartisan challenges during his presidency, and continues to be subject to criminal prosecution after his term in office expired.

5. The former president has been found liable for sexual abuse and defamation in a civil case (Jean Carroll v. Donald J. Trump) and has now sustained 34 felony convictions in connection with hush money payments during his 2016 presidential campaign (People of the State of New York v. Donald J. Trump).

6. Trump has encouraged aggressive law enforcement tactics and has frequently supported the militarization of police forces in the United States. This does not align with criminal justice professionals who advocate community policing and de-escalation techniques to build trust with the people they serve.

7. There is significant evidence that during the Trump presidency that he attempted to undermine the independence of the Department of Justice (DOJ) by pressuring officials to pursue politically motivated investigations and intervene in cases involving his associates. This erodes the impartiality required in the criminal justice system.

8. Not only has Trump frequently and publicly criticized the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) accusing them all sorts of unproven actions. This has an overall effect of damaging the credibility of this important federal law enforcement institution and its ability to perform its duties in a nonpartisan manner.

9. In 2020, in the wake of the national protests against the death of African-American George Floyd, at the hands of Minneapolis Police officers, Trump encouraged a heavy handed response toward protesters. He was also dismissive of calls for police reform. Many criminal justice professionals who seek balanced reforms in policing find Trump’s stance lacking in addressing systemic issues within law enforcement.

10. Trump’s immigration policies and practices (e.g.,Sanctuary City Restrictions and Funding Ties, Increased Role of 287(g) Agreements, ICE Detainers and Hold Requests, Public Charge Rule, Enhanced Border Enforcement and Interior Checkpoints) placed additional burdens on local law enforcement officers and the criminal justice system, requiring them to act on policies that many see as inhumane or counterproductive.

11. Trump actively encouraged the January 6th Capitol riot, that led to the injury of approximately 140 law enforcement officers, the immediate death of one officer, and the suicide of four others. Trump’s (and fellow Republican politicians) misleading characterization of the protesters as peaceful undermines the reality of the violence and law enforcement casualties.

All in all, during his presidency and currently, Trump has eroded the fragile long-term trust between law enforcement, correctional, probation and parole officers and disadvantaged communities. Taken as a whole, Trumps actions (and MAGA nation) threaten the rule of law, negatively affect efforts to maintain and/or increase democratic accountability, and frustrate both current and  future of criminal justice reforms that are empirically proven to make a difference.

In short, not only will another Trump term be damaging to the nation as a whole, it will represent a step backward for criminal justice professionals who are committed to protecting the constitution, and evolving and reforming the fields of policing, corrections, probation and parole.

This is not a normal election, the solution is not to sit this election out, but to vote for Kamala Harris.

Photo credit:

Photographer: Diana Robinson
Title: NYPD Police Academy Graduation Ceremony at Madison Square Garden
(NYPD Police Academy Graduation Ceremony at Madison Square Garden on Monday, June 30, 2014)