Thank you, Chief [Craig] Steckler, for those kind words; for your
leadership as President of the International Association of Chiefs of
Police; and for your four decades of service to law enforcement agencies
across the state of California. It’s a privilege to share the stage
with you today, and a pleasure to join Executive Director [Bart]
Johnson, the IACP’s Board of Directors – and so many of your
distinguished members – as we celebrate the achievements, and honor the
sacrifices, of law enforcement professionals throughout the country and
around the world.
I’d particularly like to thank Chief [Michael] Kehoe for taking the time
to be with us here in Philadelphia. He and his colleagues in Newtown,
Connecticut have displayed remarkable leadership in a time of
unspeakable tragedy, working to heal a community that has witnessed the
very worst of humanity. Our nation will be forever grateful for your
service.
I’d also like to congratulate Pennsylvania State Trooper [Timothy]
Strohmeyer on being named International Police Officer of the Year. His
courageous actions in the line of fire last December – when he placed
his own life at great risk in order to save the lives of those around
him – exemplified the very best of what it means to be a public
servant. He is a hero in the truest sense of the word. And it’s an
honor to join the IACP in celebrating such a prestigious, and
well-deserved, recognition.
Finally, I’d like to thank all of the federal law enforcement officials
who are with us today – including my good friend, FBI Director Jim
Comey, and representatives of the FBI, ATF, and DEA – for their
dedication, and excellent work, during the recent federal government
shutdown. Although a substantial portion of the Justice Department’s
workforce had to be furloughed – and many employees and their families
faced hardships – you and your colleagues responded to this unnecessary
and avoidable crisis with resolve. You worked tirelessly to ensure that
the Justice Department’s vital life and safety functions were not
interrupted. And alongside each of the local departments represented
here this morning – and thousands of others, led by IACP members, across
this country – you kept fighting to keep the American people safe.
For 120 years, particularly in moments of great challenge, the IACP has
been a strong ally – and an indispensable leader – in our national
efforts to do just that. Through the decades, this organization has
stood as a driving force for progress – advancing the struggle against
crime and violence while protecting the safety of those on the front
lines. You’ve repeatedly proven the power of cooperation and
collaboration across jurisdictions – and even international borders.
You’ve stood up, and spoken out, for the physical and mental health of
those who risk their lives to safeguard their communities. And
especially in recent years – through sequestration, furloughs, and
unprecedented budgetary difficulties at every level of government –
you’ve helped to secure historic progress in fulfilling the priorities
we share.
As we speak – across the United States – your work is enabling us to
make a meaningful, measurable difference in fighting terrorism,
combating threats to the most vulnerable members of society, and
preventing the gun-, gang-, and drug-fueled violence that steals too
many promising futures each day. In the last few years alone, you’ve
brought your considerable expertise to bear in helping agencies like the
Departments of Justice and Homeland Security to strengthen the
Nationwide Suspicious Activity Reporting Initiative. You’ve bolstered
our national network of Fusion Centers – so we can share information and
intelligence more freely, communicate more effectively, and operate
more efficiently than ever before. You’re moving in a variety of ways to
counter global threats like cybercrime and violent extremism. And here
in Philadelphia, this week, you’re discussing some of the most urgent
challenges your members face – including the critical role that every
local police department must play in responding to active shooter
situations such as last month’s tragic mass shooting at the Washington
Navy Yard.
Between 2000 and 2008, the United States experienced an average of
approximately five active shooter incidents every year. Alarmingly,
since 2009, this annual average has tripled. We’ve seen at least 12
active shooter situations so far in 2013. Even more troubling, these
incidents seem to be getting more and more deadly.
Over the last four years, America has witnessed an increase of nearly
150 percent in the number of people shot and killed in connection with
active shooter incidents. Although research methods and results vary,
it’s become clear that new strategies – and aggressive national response
protocols – must be employed to stop shooters in their tracks.
In the past, patrol officers commonly trained to “contain and wait” an
active shooting incident until more specially trained and equipped
personnel could arrive. But years of after-action analysis has ushered
in a major tactical shift and reinforced the need for an immediate,
aggressive response to active shooters. In order to prevent additional
casualties, it is often patrol officers – not necessarily SWAT teams –
who serve as the tip of the spear in responding to these incidents.
The reality is that police don’t always have the luxury of time to get
their most highly-trained, best-equipped officers on the scene. To save
lives, the first officers to arrive must sometimes be the ones to
directly engage an active shooter. That’s why all law enforcement
officers must have the best equipment and most up-to-date training to
confront these situations. We owe these officers nothing less.
And we take this responsibility seriously. This is why the FBI has
partnered with the IACP and other groups to provide guidance to the
first officers who arrive on the scenes of these crimes. Over the last
decade, the Justice Department has helped train 50,000 front-line
officers, more than 7,000 on-scene commanders, and over 3,000 local,
state, and federal agency heads on how to respond to active shooters.
After the tragic losses at Sandy Hook Elementary School, we joined with
the Departments of Homeland Security, Health and Human Services, and
Education to bring our comprehensive efforts to a new level. And we’re
currently engaging with other agency partners, law enforcement leaders
like you, and outside experts to develop guidance for how schools,
houses of worship, institutions of higher learning, and even ordinary
citizens should prepare for active shooter incidents.
With your support, we’re placing an increased emphasis on the need to
carefully evaluate threats, and certain individuals, in order to disrupt
planned shootings and other violent attacks. The FBI’s Behavioral
Threat Assessment Center works daily with local law enforcement and
others to assess individuals who may be on a trajectory to commit acts
of violence. Since 2011, the Center has reported hundreds of successful
disruptions – including an anticipated 150 this year alone. In every
case – both in the intervention process, and when responding to active
shooter incidents – local law enforcement officers have saved innocent
lives by reacting with integrity, courage, and uncommon valor in the
face of these too-frequent tragedies.
As we move forward with these efforts, I want to assure you that leaders
at every level of the Justice Department and the FBI are determined to
continue working with the IACP to make sure your members have the tools,
training, and guidance they need to respond to active shooter incidents
– and other threats – whenever and wherever they arise. And we’re
committed to continuing the frank and constructive dialogue that our
organizations have built over the last century.
This is why I’ve made it a priority to take part in the IACP’s annual
conference every single year since becoming Attorney General.
Throughout my career – as a prosecutor, as a former judge, and as the
brother of a retired police officer – I’ve been inspired, and humbled,
by the bravery of men and women in law enforcement. I’ve been proud to
support leaders like all of you. And I’m here today not just to engage
with you – and learn from you – but also, quite simply, to say thank
you: for your tireless commitment to public service. For consistently
bringing innovative leaders together – at forums like this one – to
discuss pressing challenges. And – especially – for stepping to the
forefront of our national efforts to address the deficiencies and
disparities that have plagued America’s criminal justice system for far
too long.
As I indicated in August, in a speech before the American Bar
Association in San Francisco, President Obama and I are determined to
work with Members of Congress from both parties – as well as state
leaders, local officials, and law enforcement – to keep protecting
public safety while strengthening our criminal justice system as a
whole. With this goal in mind – under the Department’s new “Smart on
Crime” initiative – I’ve announced a number of changes that will enable
us to forge the stronger neighborhoods, the safer communities, and the
more just society that all of our citizens deserve. These include
modifications to the Justice Department’s charging policies with regard
to mandatory minimum sentences for certain federal low-level,
drug-related offenses. This will help ensure that individuals accused of
these crimes can face sentences that are better suited to their alleged
conduct – and that limited criminal justice resources can be use more
effectively, to hold accountable violent criminals, drug kingpins, and
high-level traffickers.
My colleagues and I are also taking steps to advance proven strategies
for improving reentry and reducing recidivism. We’re exploring a range
of innovative diversion programs, such as drug rehabilitation and
community service initiatives, that can serve as alternatives to
incarceration in some cases. And we’ll be counting on your continued
leadership – and close engagement – as we implement these changes and
continue to move forward with the kinds of comprehensive public safety
solutions that the IACP has championed for decades.
I’m confident that these targeted reforms will help to address concerns
that all of us share. Just as importantly, they will improve the
ability of policymakers and law enforcement to allocate resources to the
areas that need our assistance – and your hard work – the most.
After all, as police chiefs, you have some of the most difficult jobs in
America. On a daily basis, you’re charged with maintaining order in
communities that are sometimes defined by disorder and distress. The
fact is that a disproportionate number of those communities are
communities of color – where young African American and Latino men are
at increased risk of becoming involved with our criminal justice system,
as victims or as perpetrators.
These are communities where too many Americans are trapped in a vicious
cycle of poverty, criminality, and incarceration – and where law
enforcement officers work heroically, but often against long odds, to
stem a seemingly relentless tide of violence. Interactions between area
residents and officers on patrol are, in too many cases, characterized
by distrust and even hostility – on both sides. We’ve seen all too
often that some law enforcement officers believe that community
residents tolerate and even encourage disrespect for the law – while
some citizens feel that the police unfairly target them for mistreatment
and abuse.
That’s why it’s time to declare, once and for all, that we must do
better – as a country and as a people. For the safety of our men and
women on the front lines – and in the name of winning the respect and
cooperation of America’s minority communities – it is incumbent upon law
enforcement leaders to help bridge this divide. And we can start by
recognizing that compliance with the law begins not with the fear of
arrest or even of incarceration – but with respect for the institutions
that guide our democracy.
A substantial body of research tells us that – when those who come into
contact with the police feel that they are treated fairly – they are
more likely to accept decisions by the authorities, obey the law, and
cooperate with law enforcement in the future – even if they disagree
with specific outcomes. Clearly, each of us has an opportunity, and a
responsibility, to refocus on engagement with the individual communities
we serve – by involving our fellow citizens in the process of
establishing clear norms of behavior; by setting standards for right and
wrong; and, ultimately, by relegating the era of suspicion and distrust
to the past.
I’m pleased to note that many of the police departments represented here
– under the leadership of visionary executives in and beyond this room –
have already demonstrated their commitment to the process of
reconciliation. Across the country, countless IACP members and their
colleagues are applying groundbreaking research – in procedural justice,
implicit bias, and truth-telling – to the jurisdictions they serve.
I’m proud to report that the Justice Department is supporting this work
through our COPS Office and the Office of Justice Programs – under the
leadership of Assistant Attorney General Karol Mason, who we’re
fortunate to have with us this morning.
In many places, these collaborative efforts – to provide training on
procedural justice, to promote reconciliation, and to improve
interactions with police and young people of color – are already showing
tremendous promise. Yet a great deal of work remains to be done when
it comes to supporting police departments, increasing public safety, and
standing with every member of the rank-and-file.
This is why, in addition to your success, my colleagues and I are also
firmly committed to your safety. Despite the ill-advised sequestration
and other shortfalls, the Department’s Bureau of Justice Assistance
awarded nearly $280 million during Fiscal Year 2013 – under the Edward
Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program – to support more than
50 states and territories and over a thousand local jurisdictions.
Under our groundbreaking VALOR initiative – which I announced at an IACP
conference three years ago – we’ve held 77 trainings to help prevent
violence against law enforcement, and to improve officer resilience and
survivability during violent encounters. To date, more than 11,000
officers have completed this training. Our COPS Office is currently
offering additional resources – convening an Officer Safety and Wellness
Working Group and distributing funds to support the hiring and
retention of officers across the country. Just last month, I traveled
to Detroit to announce the latest round of COPS hiring grants – which
will award 263 agencies a total of $125 million to help fund nearly
1,000 law enforcement positions, including more than 350 school resource
officers.
Beyond these important resources, the Department is working to provide
our officers with the lifesaving equipment they need to do their jobs
both safely and effectively. Since our Bulletproof Vest Partnership
Program was launched more than a decade ago, we have awarded more than
$270 million toward the purchase of over one million protective vests.
We’ve also instituted a “mandatory wear” policy for all uniformed
officers in jurisdictions receiving BVP funds. In 2012 alone, vests
saved the lives of no fewer than 33 officers in 20 different states.
Thirteen of these vests – including the one that most likely saved
Trooper Strohmeyer’s life – were purchased, in part, with BVP funds.
And as we come together today to continue this important work, to build
upon the progress we’ve seen, and to carry our collective efforts into
the future, I want all of you to know that – for today’s Justice
Department, and for this Attorney General – all of this is only the
beginning.
We will never stop fighting for the tools and resources you need. We’re
committed to complementing the work you do every day – through your
Center for Officer Safety and Wellness and your renewed focus on
preventing officer suicide – to ensure that America’s finest can protect
themselves. To honor – and empower – all who wear the badge. And to
help overcome the challenges that lie ahead – and secure the future we
must build – by standing shoulder-to-shoulder with every member of
America’s premier law enforcement organization.
I look forward to all that we must, and surely will, achieve together. I
am proud, and deeply grateful, to count you as colleagues and
partners. I thank you, once again, for all that you do. And I wish you
all a most productive conference.
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