Philadelphia, PA
~ Saturday, October 21, 2017
Remarks as prepared for delivery
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declines have been replaced by increases in violent crime.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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