The U.S. Justice Department
released the below information:
Philadelphia, PA ~ Saturday,
October 21, 2017: Thank you Chief
Manger, for that kind introduction. And
thank you for your 40 years of service in law enforcement. I know that the
people of Montgomery and Fairfax Counties appreciate all that you’ve done for
them.
Before I say anything else, I
want to say thank you to Darrel Stephens, who is retiring as your Executive
Director. I’m told this is his last
meeting. Everyone please join me in a
salute to Darrel for his lifetime of service to law enforcement.
On behalf of President Trump
and the Department of Justice, I’m honored to be here with you all today—to be
with the selfless and courageous men and women of law enforcement. The President recognizes the importance of
your work, and he is your strongest supporter.
He knows that your work is both noble, difficult and essential.
In many of your cities today,
it’s getting even harder.
I want to talk about our
situation today.
After 20 years of declining
crime, the FBI’s annual crime report released three weeks ago reveals that for
the last two years, the declines have been replaced by increases in violent
crime. These increases are the largest
since 1991. Even more troubling, the
2015 homicide rate increased 12 percent and in 2016 it went up another eight
percent. The 2015 increase was the
highest since 1968 – a 20% increase in two years.
I strongly believe these
trends are not a blip, and that if we do not act now and smartly, this nation
could see a reversal of 40 years of
hard-won gains. The crime rate a few years ago had fallen to one half of
1980.
President Trump recognizes
these threats to American families. He
ran for office—and he won—as a law-and-order candidate. Now he is governing as a law-and-order
president.
As soon as I was sworn in as
Attorney General, he sent me an executive order to “reduce crime” in
America. We at the Department of
Justice—and our state and local law enforcement partners—embrace that goal.
And, we in law enforcement
know from experience that it can be done.
That’s why, at the beginning
of this month, after discussions with law enforcement across this country and
our experts, I am pleased to discuss with you today – this group of law
enforcement leaders – the Major Cities Chiefs Association – something extremely important—a foundational
strategy to reduce crime in America. The
Department of Justice is re-establishing a new and modernized Project Safe
Neighborhoods—or PSN—program as our priority.
It will not be static but flexible and subject to change as experience
and research dictates.
PSN is not just one policy
idea among many. This is the centerpiece
of our crime reduction strategy. There
is great support for it among our experienced agents and prosecutors throughout
the country—and importantly, our local partners.
As many of you know, this
program began in 2001. Based around a
set of core principles, PSN encouraged U.S. Attorneys’ offices to work with the
communities they serve to develop customized crime reduction strategies.
And it is a proven
model. One study showed that, in its
first seven years, PSN reduced violent crime overall by 4.1 percent, with case
studies showing reductions in certain areas of up to 42 percent. That’s a remarkable achievement. There are Americans who are alive and well
today because this program made a difference.
Now, I know that there are
other ideas out there. But what we are
talking about today is not just some theory.
We know that it works. Just like we know a well run community policing
program works.
But why does it work? I believe it works because of its emphasis on
partnership with local communities, and because it has arisen from experience
and sound research.
PSN is not a
Washington-centered program. In fact,
it’s just the opposite. PSN simply provides
a flexible framework that can be adapted to the situation on the ground in
local communities like yours across the country.
Every city, and every
district is facing a different set of circumstances and challenges. For example, increases in violent crime are
occurring disproportionately in certain areas.
According to one study, half of all homicides in this country occur in
just two percent of our counties.
That’s why I have directed
our U.S. Attorneys to do two things.
First of all, to target and prioritize prosecutions on the most violent
people in the most violent areas. And
second, to engage with a wide variety of stakeholders—from the police chiefs in
this room to mayors to community groups and victims’ advocates—in order to
identify the needs specific to their communities and develop a violent crime
reduction plan. U.S. Attorneys can help
ensure that all the right people are at the table, and coordinate our efforts
so that we are working together toward the same goals. And our U.S. Attorneys know that I am going
to hold them accountable for that.
Forging new relationships
with local prosecutors and building on existing relationships will ensure that
the most violent offenders are prosecuted in the most appropriate
jurisdiction. But our goal is not to
fill up the courts or fill up the prisons.
Our goal is not to manage crime or merely to punish crime. Our goal is to reduce crime, just as
President Trump directed us to do. Our
goal is to make every community safer—especially the most vulnerable. PSN recognizes that we must partner with
locally-based crime prevention and re-entry programs to do that.
While there is no quick fix,
we must be open to policies that prevent crime and reduce recidivism.
Partnering with community
leaders, and taking the time to listen to the people we serve really
works. I remember, when I was a U.S.
Attorney, my office prosecuted a gang in Mobile. When the case was over, community leaders
asked for a community meeting to talk about how we could further improve the
neighborhood. At the meeting we split up
into 10 subgroups. State, county, and
local officials listened to the people and we developed a practical plan based
on the requests of the people living in the neighborhood. It was a city, county, state, and federal
partnership using existing resources, to fix the community.
And it worked. I have never forgotten that work. The result was a transformed community in a
surprisingly short period of time. Crime
went down; home values went up; new houses were built; a police precinct was
established. I’ve been back to that
neighborhood many times to see the progress.
I will say, however, that we
have even more research, experience, and information to be effective today than
we did back then. The technologies and
data available to us now far surpass what we’ve used in the past. Our police
officers and police leaders are more professional and trained than ever before.
With these advantages we can
make PSN even better than ever.
Deputy Attorney General Rosenstein—a
proud son of this city, by the way—will oversee implementation of these policy
changes, and I could not be more confident in his leadership. As the U.S. Attorney for the state of
Maryland, he led the PSN program during its entire existence. He knows it works and how to make it better.
An enhanced and expanded PSN
will make better use of our resources. For example, we will be extending grant
funding to implement the Crime Gun Intelligence Center model – which detects
gunshots – to two new cities. So far the
Department has provided grant funding for it in Denver, Milwaukee, Los Angeles,
and Washington, D.C.. Some of the people
in this room—Chief Ed Flynn and Chief Charlie Beck—can tell you that it works.
Earlier this month I
announced that we will extend funding to Kansas City and Phoenix. Their police chiefs are here today: Chief
Rick Smith and Chief Jeri Williams. This
grant funding will help you do your jobs—and you help us do our jobs.
And in the coming months, the
Department will award more than $100 million in grants to state and local law
enforcement agencies to hire more police officers. We also intend to hire 230 new Assistant U.S.
Attorneys in 2018 as a step toward our goal of eventually hiring a total of 300
new Assistant U.S. Attorneys. These
exceptional and talented prosecutors are key leaders in our crime fighting
partnership.
With all of that in mind, the
Department is asking Congress to invest in PSN.
The President’s fiscal year 2018 budget requested $70 million in
locally-controlled grant funding to build on and expand the PSN initiative.
Our success, your success, in
bringing down the crime rate for over two decades, and the promising success of
PSN show us that there is hope. Law
enforcement officers—you and I—can make a difference. With the right tactics and the right
resources, we can reduce crime in this country.
And that’s what, together, we
are determined to do so.
The Department of Justice
will heed the President’s call. We will not concede a single block or street
corner in the United States to lawlessness or crime. The criminals, the gang members, and the drug
traffickers should know: we are coming
after you—and we have better tools and are better coordinated than ever.
And so to everyone in this
room, our friends and partners: thank you for your hard work to serve and
protect this country. It is truly a
noble and high calling to work every day to ensure the safety and security of the
people of this nation. You are on the front lines.
We are proud to stand with
you. God bless you all.
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