Crazy Bernie wants Civilian Corps of Unarmed First Responders?

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) unveiled a sweeping criminal justice reform plan Sunday aimed to combat “institutional racism” in the country. The plan includes diversifying police forces, creating a civilian corps of unarmed first responders, ending cash bail, and cutting the U.S. prison population in half. Sanders released his plan as part of his effort to combat what he says is institutional racism and the criminalization of poverty.

“Hundreds of thousands of incarcerated people in America have not been convicted of a crime and are solely in jail because they can’t afford their bail. We are criminalizing poverty,” his plan states, adding that mass incarceration “disproportionately falls on the shoulders of black and brown people in America” due to the “legacy” of institutional racism.

Sanders’ scheme is full of broad promises, such as ending cash bail, which he plans to implement with a carrot-and-stick approach, threatening to “withhold funding from states that continue the use of cash bail systems.” He also promises to address issues within the police force, in part with the creation of a “federally managed database” to track officers who use “deadly force.”

Additionally, the socialist senator calls for the creation of a “civilian corps of unarmed first responders” made up of EMTs, social workers and other trained professionals who “can handle order maintenance violations, mental health emergencies, and low-level conflicts outside the criminal justice system.” This, he argues, will free up police officers, allowing them to focus on more series crimes. His plan offers no details on the criteria departments would use to categorize a “low-level” conflict or how they would determine if force was needed.