Since the 1980s the federal government has prompted the
militarization of federal, state, and local law enforcement. That
militarization has led not only to well-publicized disasters, but
to a widespread increase in violent law enforcement, which has
played a major role in alienating Americans from their government.
Such baleful consequences are the result of another dangerous
trend, the expansion of the power of federal criminal justice far
beyond its legitimate constitutional limits. Law and order begin at
the top; the most important criminal justice reforms are those that
return federal law enforcement to its constitutional role.
