The Executive Order on “Crime and Disorder”: An Affront to Policy, Law, and Ethics

President Donald Trump recently signed an executive order (EO) titled “Ending Crime and Disorder on America’s Streets” (EO 14321), which details his administration’s approach to addressing these pressing social problems (3). It relies primarily on a two-pronged strategy: strengthening local authorities’ ability to confine individuals involuntarily in psychiatric facilities and encouraging the policing, including the criminalization, of disorderly behavior. The order’s main substantive provisions ignore the scientific literature, depart from well-established legal norms, and violate foundational ethical principles. Accordingly, if vigorously implemented, EO 14321 will likely exacerbate the very problems it claims to address and create new ones.