As police chiefs, our first responsibility is to ensure the safety and well-being of our citizens and our officers and to make absolutely sure that we are operating in the most effective and efficient manner possible. The nature of our profession requires that we continually adjust to a vast array of new and ever-changing challenges as we strive to fulfill our mission of protecting the citizens we serve. This has never been more true than in the decade since the 9/11 attacks. Today, law enforcement confronts a myriad of threats, challenges, and opportunities that were simply unimaginable just a short time ago.

Yet despite the importance of our mission to the security of communities and the United States, we still lack a central, comprehensive plan to guide our national criminal justice efforts to adjust to the new realities of crime and terror that our agencies face in the 21st century. This is simply unacceptable.

The United States needs a strategic plan. We need a national commission on criminal justice.