The whole idea of incarceration was supposed to be to make our communities safer. So why is it that as we have massively increased incarceration in recent decades, our communities have become less safe? Clearly, we have been locking up the wrong people.

When the five finalists for Milwaukee Police Chief endured a marathon fivehour public grilling from citizens, the performance of Police Commissioner Edward Flynn from Springfield, Mass., was clearly head-and-shoulders above that of the other candidates.