Just after swearing in Alabama drug warrior Jeff Sessions as Attorney General, President Trump
signed three new executive orders to pursue a 'law and order' agenda. One order seeks to protect police from violence, setting up a prelude to mandatory minimum sentencing and expanded definitions of crime.
Although 2016 violent police deaths are up from the previous year,
the general trend is down considerably. As
we reported in 2015, killings of police spiked during alcohol prohibition in the 1920s, and again in the late 1960s as drug prohibition ramped up. From there, killings of police have steadily declined, with recent years being almost the safest ever for cops.
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The other two executive orders seek to: 1) reduce crime, especially "illegal immigration, drug trafficking, and violent crime," and, 2) direct a review of the Threat Mitigation Working Group so it can focus on international drug cartels. Mexican cartels will undoubtedly be the prime target.
The ceremonious orders, underscored with false claims about rising crime and murder rates, would lead one to believe we are in the midst of an epidemic. But the reality is that
crime rates — and especially the murder rate — are at near historic lows. Also, several studies have shown that
immigrants are less likely to commit crime than people born in the U.S.
Comment: Further reading: ISIS is not the biggest killer of US troops in the Middle East - it's suicide!