The Wickersham Commission was established by President Hoover to a) scale back state surveillance. b) improve prisoner conditions. c) reform "tough on crime" legislation at the local level. d) make the criminal justice system less racially biased. e) examine the causes and remedies of crime.

The Wickersham Commission, officially known as the National Commission on Law Observance and Enforcement, was established in 1929 and aimed to address the growing concerns around crime and the enforcement of Prohibition. It conducted extensive studies to evaluate the effectiveness of the criminal justice system, ultimately advocating for reform and more effective policing strategies. This was a bold move during a time when law enforcement methods were often criticized for being heavy-handed and ineffective. While the commission's recommendations touched on various aspects of crime and law enforcement, they also highlighted the necessity for a more statistics-based approach to understanding crime trends and causes. It sparked discussions about reforming policing practices, and its findings had a lasting impact on criminal justice policy in the years to come. The conversations that emerged from the commission's work still resonate in today's debates about crime and law enforcement practices.