NEWARK, N.J. (AP) – New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is calling for changes in the criminal justice system, seeking in part to give nonviolent drug offenders a better shot at rebuilding their lives and to improve frayed relations between communities and police.
In the wake of protests across the country sparked by the deaths of young black men by police, Christie plans to point to Camden, New Jersey, as a national model for rebuilding trust between law enforcement and residents while driving down violent crime.
“Peace on our streets is more than just the absence of violence,” Christie says in excerpts of a speech he plans to deliver Thursday in Camden. “Justice isn’t something we can jail our way to. Justice is something we have to build in our communities.”
Camden is of the most crime-ridden cities in the country, but crime rates have fallen sharply in the last two years after a Christie-backed deal replaced the city’s police force with a larger county-run force. President Barack Obama recently visited Camden to tout the changes, which Christie has cited as an example of the kind of bipartisan problem-solving he can bring to the White House.
The speech is the fifth in a series aimed at framing Christie as a substantive candidate with specific policy ideas. The effort to differentiate him in a crowded Republican field hasn’t led to much momentum.