His tenure demonstrates why the progressive-prosecutor platform is unlikely to accomplish meaningful reform: There is a striking mismatch between the movement’s important goals and the inadequate means it employs to achieve them. Vance has enacted the policies he said he would, but we shouldn’t be surprised that they haven’t brought about the change progressives hoped for. Declining to prosecute minor offenses won’t end mass incarceration, when most individuals in prison are there for violent crimes. Diversion programs, which offer treatment only to those willing to comply with onerous supervision requirements and face jail time if they slip up, won’t keep large portions of people affected by mental illness, addiction, and poverty out of the criminal legal system. Studies show that—because of their position in this adversarial system—prosecutors are often unable to evaluate cases with the neutrality needed to systematically identify the innocent and decide how much punishment is necessary for the guilty. Nor will gathering and publishing data address the disproportionate representation of people of color in the criminal legal system, because transparency is not a cure for the disparities that data show.