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As President-elect Joe Biden prepares his transition into the White House<\/a>, he is facing mounting expectations to bring about sweeping change on criminal justice reform.<\/p>\n As the author of the 1994 crime bill,<\/a> which was credited in part as ushering in a wave of mass incarceration of mostly Black men, and a vocal proponent of harsh policies<\/a> during the “war on drugs” era, Biden has a long and often-criticized<\/a> record on the issue.<\/p>\n He is also coming into power after his predecessor President Donald Trump signed into law<\/a> one of the most significant changes to the federal criminal justice system <\/a>in the 21st century. The First Step Act was the result of a bipartisan coalition of lawmakers, civil rights groups, and grassroots activists. Experts said it was a monumental step forward after years of criminal justice reform and “tough on crime” policies being used as a political cudgel in Washington.<\/p>\n But the legislationhas flaws<\/a>, as some activists have noted,<\/a> and Biden will be expected to continue moving the needle. Experts told NBC News that now as both political parties appear to have common ground on the issue and significant steps have been made over the past decade, a Biden administration needs to make criminal justice reform more than a talking point.<\/p>\n \u201cThe chief cornerstone has already been laid, the groundwork has already been done, the foundation has already been built. The only thing that he has to go in and do is continue to capitalize off of the momentum,\u201d said Louis L. Reed, the director of organizing and partnerships at #Cut50, a bipartisan criminal justice reform nonprofit. \u201cBiden needs to hit the ground running on legislation and executive action.\u201d<\/p>\n The Biden transition team did not respond to a request for comment on their plans. But as a presidential candidate, he proposed sweeping reforms, including ending private prisons, cash bail, and mandatory-minimum sentencing. He has also been a vocal opponent of the death penalty and police reform. He has floated, for example, tying federal funds<\/a> given to police departments to diversity initiatives and community policing, among other areas \u2014 rebuffing calls from progressive activists to defund police departments.<\/p>\n The president-elect also recently told NBC News’ Lester Holt in an interview that once he is in the White House he wants to convene a meeting with activists, police chiefs, civil rights advocates \u201cto determine how we move forward.\u201d<\/p>\n