Hillary Clinton cheered the Justice Department's announcement Thursday that it would phase out its use of private prisons.

"Glad to see that the Justice Department is ending the use of private prisons. This is the right step forward," the Democratic candidate's social media account said.


The DOJ explained in a memo it planned to take steps to move away from placing federal prisoners in private prisons because the latter are neither safe nor effective.

The agency is now moving towards "reducing — and ultimately ending — our use of privately operated prisons," the memo's author, Deputy Attorney Sally Yates, wrote.

"They simply do not provide the same level of correctional services, programs and resources, they do not save substantially on costs, and as noted in a recent report by the Department's Office of Inspector General, they do not maintain the same level of safety and security," she added.

Clinton's enthusiasm for the decision comes on the same day that she met personally in New York with members of the law enforcement community to discuss police reforms.

"I believe supporting our police officers and improving policing go hand in hand," she said at the roundtable event. "Everyone is safer when there is respect for the law, and when everyone is respected by the law."

The Democratic candidate met Thursday afternoon with retiring New York City Police Commissioner Bill Bratton; his successor, James O'Neill; Charles Beck of the Los Angeles Police Department; and former police chief of Philadelphia Charles Ramsey.

Bratton has been a vocal critic of Trump, and has characterized the Republican candidate as lacking "depth" on issues regarding law and order.

The Democratic candidate's appeals to members of the law enforcement community is part of a delicate strategy that sees her also reaching out members of the Black Lives Matter movement, which seeks to raise awareness about police brutality in minority communities.

"I want to support them, our police officers, with the resources they need to do their jobs. To do them effectively, to learn from their efforts, and to apply those lessons across our nation," Clinton said.

"I think we can come together with a sense of shared purpose and a belief in our common destiny to have a purpose where we go forth united and do everything possible to respond to any legitimate questions, to find answers together, and to keep our communities safe," she concluded, "To protect lives and property, but also respect every single American."

There are approximately 22,600 federal inmates incarcerated in private prisons, according to DOJ figures from December 2015.