The Trump Administration on Crime and Public Safety
The federal climate towards criminal justice and public safety plays a vital role in shaping policy trends on the state level. President Trump’s first term delivered landmark criminal justice policies, the impacts of which are still being felt today. In his second term, Trump’s White House has honed in on ways that technology and data can power safety, appointed personnel with a background in sentencing reform, and shown promise for building upon the momentum of the first term. Understanding areas of alignment between state and federal reform priorities is crucial for sustainable and productive collaboration.
During the first Trump administration’s tenure, from 2017-2021, the President launched a multifaceted criminal justice initiative. One of the hallmarks of these efforts was the First Step Act, a bipartisan package passed in 2018 aimed at reducing recidivism and improving sentencing laws. Among other things, the First Step Act created an assessment system to guide inmate rehabilitation; encouraged partnerships between state, local, and private stakeholders; opened up pathways for community supervision; increased good time credits; mandated evaluations and audits to ensure that programs were performing effectively; and reduced some mandatory minimum sentences. The First Step Act was celebrated by parties on both sides of the aisle and tapped into the ongoing support among Americans for criminal justice policies that lead to better public safety outcomes. In addition to the First Step Act, the 45th administration launched several initiatives aimed at fighting violent crime. A defining feature of these efforts was collaboration between federal, state, and local agencies and a reliance on data-backed reform.
While criminal justice has not been explicitly stated as a priority, the current administration is in a strategic position to continue the momentum of the previous term.
President Trump’s agenda for American leadership in artificial intelligence (AI) understands the evolving relationship between technology, criminal justice, and public safety. The AI Action Plan outlines the White House’s designs for the transformative technology and encourages agencies to pursue education and adoption. Fields related to public safety are ripe for the progress that AI can bring, and the pro-innovation stance of the White House creates a clear pathway forward in leveraging the technology. Courtrooms and legal proceedings can maximize efficiency and accuracy by using AI to streamline paperwork and seamlessly consolidate and organize documents. Police can enhance their training through AI powered simulations that mimic real life scenarios. AI can also give context to crime data and detect patterns that would have gone unnoticed by the human eye. Additionally, the Action Plan proposes a framework for handling AI generated evidence in legal practice, encouraging the clarity needed for courts around the nation to navigate digital evidence.
Louisiana is a leader in this area and passed Act 250 during the 2025 Regular Session. Act 250 outlines the appropriate procedures for questioning the authenticity of evidence, and in doing so ensures that justice will not be stalled because of a lack of clarity over appropriate protocol. The administration’s embrace of American innovation is crucial to becoming smart on crime. Sound policy and evidence-backed approaches rely on harnessing every resource available. AI’s capacity to organize data, save costs, and encourage efficiency will prove a valuable asset if used correctly.
During his first term, President Trump combatted prison overcrowding and the practices that lead to it. His appointment choices continue to demonstrate that priority. In 2019, President Trump granted full pardon and clemency to Alice Marie Johnson, a single mother involved in drug trading who had been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole plus twenty-five years. In February of this year, Johnson was appointed “pardon czar.” Creating the position and filling it with a formerly incarcerated woman signals the administration’s appreciation for the power of second chances and life after incarceration. Alice Marie Johnson has an opportunity to continue advocating for smart sentencing reforms and policies that help non-violent offenders re-enter society, join the workforce, and find hope as they turn away from a life of crime.
With just over three years remaining in office, President Trump can take advantage of the groundwork laid in his first term and the steps already taken in his second. Instituting evidence-backed criminal justice policies is a bipartisan priority and the nation’s renewed focus on targeting crime where it is spiking—and learning from where it’s falling—has created energy behind federal action on this front. Reviving the priorities of the First Step Act and partnering them with the embrace of innovation and second chances demonstrated thus far is a powerful formula for lasting change.
