A White House event regarding the economic impact of the criminal justice system was held today without the inclusion of law enforcement on the panel, according to a release from the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association (FLEOA).

Prior to the event, the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association (FLEOA) sent a letter to the president, drawing attention to this oversight. In their letter they state this is, "malfeasance on the part of the White House to not include those that actually are involved with the criminal justice system versus people focused on policy. Policy without context is a vacuum of reality."

"We agree that our criminal justice system can always be improved upon," said FLEOA National President Nathan Catura. "But excluding the voice of those who are on the front lines leaves a hole in the conversation. Today's event was not fully representative of all those stakeholders needed to have a productive and fully-informed discussion."

The event titled "Economic Consequences of the Criminal Justice System" highlighted a new report by the President's Council of Economic Advisers and was co-hosted by the Brennan Center for Justice and the American Enterprise Institute (AEI). The participant list included panel members from each of the host organizations as well as government officials and several other policy organizations, but no one representative of the law enforcement community or victim rights groups.

"The deliberate exclusion of law enforcement from this panel and event indicates the purpose was to have a theoretical discussion, rather than one of substance regarding the real challenges and opportunities facing the criminal justice system and potential reforms," Catura concluded.

About FLEOA

The Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association (www.fleoa.org) is the largest nonprofit, nonpartisan professional association that exclusively represents over 26,000 active and retired federal law enforcement officers from over 65 agencies.