AMU Homeland Security Public Safety

Justice Department Names 12 US Cities for New Public Safety Partnership

By David E. Hubler
Contributor, In Homeland Security

“Turning back the recent troubling increase of violent crime in our country is a top priority of the Department of Justice and the Trump Administration,” Attorney General Jeff Sessions said Tuesday, when the Justice Department opened a two-day summit in Bethesda, Maryland, to discuss strategies for reducing violent crime.

“The Department of Justice will work with American cities suffering from serious violent crime problems,” said Sessions. Federal prosecutors in the U.S. Attorneys offices, the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration and officials who oversee federal law enforcement grants will coordinate assistance with the 12 cities named in a newly created public safety partnership.

The 12 cities are:

  • Birmingham, Alabama
  • Indianapolis, Indiana
  • Memphis, Tennessee
  • Toledo, Ohio
  • Baton Rouge, Louisiana
  • Buffalo, New York
  • Cincinnati, Ohio
  • Houston, Texas
  • Jackson, Tennessee
  • Kansas City, Missouri
  • Lansing, Michigan
  • Springfield, Illinois

Partnership to Identify and Train Law Enforcement Agencies in Crime-Fighting Strategies

The new partnership includes diagnostic teams aimed at identifying crime-fighting strategies for cities experiencing serious violent crime. Operations teams will lead a three-year effort to train, coach and increase collaboration among prosecutors, law enforcement and probation agencies.

“This spike in violent crime is not happening in every city in every neighborhood, but the trend is real and should concern all of us and it must not continue,” the Attorney General noted. “For many of our fellow citizens, this is literally a matter of life and death. Every American, no matter who they are, where they live, has the right to live in safe homes, in safe neighborhoods.”

Deputy AG Rosenstein Praises Law Enforcement Officers during Summit

In his remarks during the Bethesda summit, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein paid tribute to law enforcement officers nationwide. “The Attorney General and I understand that every time you pull a vehicle over, execute a search warrant or step out in your uniform, you face a potentially fatal situation,” Rosenstein said. “It gives us the utmost respect for the work that you do and for the split-second decisions that you need to make.”

Sessions and Rosenstein spoke critically of the Obama administration. Session told the law enforcement audience that the Department has “a new determination” to help police. He faulted the previous administration for its “dangerous catch-and-release policies” toward illegal immigrants.

About the Author

David E. Hubler brings a variety of government, journalism and teaching experience to his position as a Quality Assurance Editor at APUS. David’s professional background includes serving as a senior editor at CIA and the Voice of America. He has also been a managing editor for several business-to-business and business-to-government publishing companies. David has taught high school English in Connecticut and at Northern Virginia Community College. He has a master’s degree for Teachers of English from the University of New Hampshire and a B.A. in English from New York University. David’s 2015 book, “The Nats and the Grays, How Baseball in the Nation’s Capital Survived WWII and Changed the Game Forever,” was recently published in paperback by Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.

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