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Officials say Holder's "Smart on Crime" policy "convoluted the process", and left prosecutors applying the law unevenly, which they said "is not Justice".

The memo sent by Sessions also rescinded the policies of former attorney general Eric Holder Jr., effectively immediately. He added that Sessions' policy was an "unwise and ill-informed decision" and that Congress should enact criminal-justice legislature to reverse the move. We will not allow the Attorney General to turn the clock back on federal criminal justice reform. However, the federal prison population is expected to grow under Sessions' watch, considering both his battle against drug offenses and the Trump administration's immigration crackdown.

Sen. Kamala Harris, D-California, said in a statement that Sessions is trying to revive the "war on drugs", which she said "treated drugs, addiction and substance abuse as a crime instead of as a public health issue".

Sessions said the crackdown was "a key part of President Trump's promise to keep America safe", linking drug trafficking to increased homicide rates in some cities.

Sessions, who is also threatening to unwind police reform and recently said marijuana is "nearly as unsafe as heroin" (it is not), is certainly not going to let extremely clear facts and figures get in the way of his obsession with stuffing as many black and brown people into prisons and detention centers as he possibly can. It means that we are going to meet our responsibility to enforce the law with judgment and fairness.

"If you are a drug trafficker we will not look the other way, we will not be willfully blind to your misconduct", he said, promising that prosecutors would focus on traffickers and not low-level drug users. Harsher sentences don't work to deter crime, research has shown. Earlier this year, Sessions reversed a directive from the previous deputy attorney general Sally Yates that would stop the use of private prisons for holding federal prisoners. Ofer said that the new policy will harm communities and set minorities "on a vicious cycle of incarceration". It would also cut the Drug-Free Communities Support Program, which funds programs to prevent substance abuse among young people.

The Sessions memo was largely crafted by Steven H. Cook, a federal prosecutor who was president of the National Association of Assistant U.S. Attorneys and is now detailed to the Justice Department.

"To be tough on crime we have to be smart on crime".

Law Enforcement Leaders to Reduce Crime and Incarceration, an organization of almost 200 current and former police chiefs, sheriffs, and prosecutors, called the move an "ineffective way to protect public safety".

Faith leaders across the country have opposed Sessions' confirmation as USA attorney general with petitions and statements, calling him unfit to make decisions that are helpful to communities of color across the U.S - especially around prison sentencing for black people.

"While we appreciate the attorney general's commitment to reducing crime and combating risky opioid abuse, we think his strategy is misguided, unsupported by evidence, and likely to do more harm than good", FAMM said. "This will help law enforcement do our jobs better".

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Former AG Eric Holder Calls Jeff Sessions New Policy 'Dumb on Crime' - AppsforPCdaily