This week, Justice Department officials attended the annual meeting of the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) in San Diego.
IACP brings together more than 16,000 public safety professionals across the country to provide a space for them to deepen their knowledge and understanding of some of the toughest issues facing our country. By convening federal, state, local, and Tribal law enforcement, officials are able to maintain their continued partnership in order to ensure the public safety and security of the American people.
Attorney General Merrick B. Garland, Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco, Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta, Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke for Civil Rights, Assistant Attorney General Amy Solomon of the Office of Justice Programs (OJP), Director Christopher Wray of the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI), Director Steven Dettelbach of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Administrator Anne Milgram of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Director Ronald L. Davis of the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS), Director Hugh T. Clements of the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office), and Community Relations Service (CRS) Head Justin Lock were all in attendance at IACP.
During a fireside chat moderated by IACP Deputy Executive Director Terry Cunningham, Attorney General Garland discussed the Department’s request for an increase in appropriations for the COPS Office Hiring Program, recently announced funding to law enforcement agencies and stakeholders across the country, the challenges of recruitment and retention in policing, threats to law enforcement personnel, the Department’s anti-violence crime strategy, and the Department’s attack on every element of the fentanyl epidemic – from the precursor suppliers in China, to the laboratories in Mexico, to the leaders of the Sinaloa and Jalisco Cartels, to their distribution networks in the United States.
In her remarks to the IACP State Associations of Chiefs of Police, Deputy Attorney General Monaco addressed the Justice Department’s priorities of combating violent crime, taking illegal firearms off the streets, and battling the flow of synthetic opioids like fentanyl into our communities. She recognized the strong partnerships necessary to combat violent crime and the particular burden that it places on law enforcement officials with limited resources and personnel.
Associate Attorney General Gupta provided opening remarks before a panel, “Leadership Reflections: Navigating Through Crisis,” during the plenary General Assembly session on Monday. In her remarks, the Associate Attorney General acknowledged the challenges in responding to mass violence incidents, hate crimes, critical incidents involving police officers, and the epidemic of gun violence in this country. She underscored the Justice Department’s commitment to supporting law enforcement leaders and their communities in times of crisis. She discussed the Department’s efforts to support victims, including providing $9 million dollars of grants to the National Mass Violence Victimization Resource Center in Charleston, South Carolina, and the important work of the FBI’s Victim Services Division and OJP’s Office for Victims of Crime. And she highlighted the Department support and resources for officer mental health and wellness, the COPS Office’s Collaborative reform program, and the forthcoming after-action report on the horrific mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas.
Assistant Attorney General Clarke spoke to the National Association of Women Law Enforcement Executives, the Human and Civil Rights Committee, and the Indian Country Law Enforcement Section. At these meetings, she underscored the Civil Rights Division’s efforts to secure equal employment opportunities for women in the law enforcement sector and highlighted the division’s efforts to partner with law enforcement to promote constitutional, effective, and non-discriminatory policing.
The Associate Attorney General also provided opening remarks before a panel on the Department’s cross-cutting work to support police departments and the policing profession more broadly. Assistant Attorney General Solomon and COPS Director Clements spoke as leaders from the Justice Department’s grantmaking components about their commitment to providing law enforcement agencies across the country with the resources and support they need to promote safe and thriving communities. They highlighted an increase in dedicated funding for the COPS Hiring Program from $139 million in 2022 to $224 million in 2023, to requested appropriations of $2.7 billion for FY 2024. Additionally, the Department announced last week nearly $75 million in critical grant funding to law enforcement agencies and stakeholders across the country. This funding will help combat drug trafficking and provide additional mental health and wellness resources for law enforcement officers.
The law enforcement component heads all focused on the importance of law enforcement cooperation and partnership in order to accomplish their goals. The heads of all of the Justice Department law enforcement components were at IACP and emphasized the critical work their components are doing to protect the American people. FBI Director Wray highlighted the value of partnerships with state and local agencies and underscored the importance of leveraging collective resources and strengths to better protect our communities. Director Wray emphasized that law enforcement is more effective when everyone is working together and thanked our partners for their unwavering resolve in the face of challenging situations. DEA Administrator Milgram focused on the work she leads to defeat drug cartels responsible for large numbers of deaths due to fentanyl and other opioid trafficking. ATF Director Dettelbach talked about the partnerships ATF has with law enforcement officers across the country to get ghost guns off the streets. USMS Director Davis spoke about the recent success of the USMS-led high-impact fugitive apprehension initiative called Operation North Star III, where more than 4,400 violent fugitives were apprehended. He also emphasized the need for increased collaboration to address violent crime in not only major cities but also smaller jurisdiction and rural areas.
CRS Head Lock presented on CRS’ services and programs to assist communities responding to and preventing civil rights-based community tensions, bias incidents, and hate crimes.
The Justice Department will continue to support our partnerships with state, local, Tribal, and international law enforcement and to protect the American people.