Remarks as Prepared for Delivery by Deputy Attorney General David Ogden at the Attorney...

Remarks as Prepared for Delivery by Deputy Attorney General David Ogden at the
Attorney General's Law Enforcement Summit

WASHINGTON, April 20 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The following are remarks as
prepared for delivery by Deputy Attorney General David Ogden at the Attorney
General's Law Enforcement Summit:

Good afternoon. It is an honor to welcome this distinguished group of
American law enforcement leaders to the Justice Department. I want to thank
the Attorney General for convening this Law Enforcement Summit. And I want to
thank all of you for taking the time to join us here today and for the service
you do your country and your communities every day. This Department is
committed to building a strong partnership with you - our state, local and
tribal partners.

I thought I would take this opportunity to speak with you about community
policing in the 21st Century. We all know about community policing: our
modern-day law enforcement system takes root in this concept. But times
change, and the challenges our law enforcement officers face today require
more from us and more from those we serve. In particular, community policing
in the United States is built on two partnerships: first, and fundamentally,
the partnership between state, local and tribal law enforcement and the
communities they serve. And second, the partnership between these law
enforcement agencies and the Department of Justice. The Attorney General and
I know that fully meeting the challenges you and your partners in your
communities face requires that this Department be a strong and engaged federal
partner. We know that our partnership with you is also central to our
mission.

Before talking about our partnership with you, let me say something about that
first, fundamental partnership - the one between your agencies and the
communities you serve. As a citizen, I enjoy the protection that you provide
me, my family, and my neighborhood. But we the citizens too often overlook
the role that we must play.

U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Louis Brandeis once wrote that, "The most
important political office is that of private citizen." I couldn't agree
more.

This concept that we - the governed - as private citizens have certain
communal responsibilities predates the American democratic experiment.

The Office of Sheriff is over a thousand years old and is mentioned no less
than nine times in the Magna Carta. In early England, the sheriff was
responsible for keeping the peace.

But keeping the peace was not just the sheriff's job. Citizens also had a
role to play. When help was needed, the sheriff would sound the alarm - known
as the hue and cry - and all citizens who heard it were required to lend a
hand.

So, what do sheriffs of the Middle Ages and modern day practitioners of
community policing know that perhaps the rest of society does not? That
police alone cannot ensure safe communities.

For decades we have added to the responsibilities of our state, local and
tribal law enforcement agencies - asked you to do more, to fill the gaps
created by troubled homes, failing schools, underfunded community
organizations, and overwhelmed social services. You are a three digit phone
call away from every citizen, and for many people you are the only
representative of our democratic government that they ever see, usually when
they are at their most vulnerable. But we must continue to instill in all
citizens their own obligations to the community.

In the law, a partnership is defined as an association of two or more persons
engaged in an enterprise in which the benefits and the burdens are shared
proportionally. Partnership is woven throughout community policing, not only
because it builds trust with the communities that you serve, but also because
meaningful partnerships can provide the help you need to do the difficult work
we ask you to do.

We must reengage, reinvigorate, and recruit partners in preserving public
safety.

These may be fellow public servants who need a reminder that the boarded-up
house on the corner, the abandoned car in the yard, and the burnt out
streetlight down the road are their responsibility, too. We may look to
church groups or other community groups with a history of successful work in
the neighborhood.

In the end, however, it is the individual citizens who must answer the
modern-day hue and cry and accept our proper role in making communities safe
places to live, work, and raise our families. And community policing
recognizes and builds on that truth.

Robert F. Kennedy, for whom this building we sit in today is named, eloquently
expressed this idea when he said,

The glory of justice and the majesty of the law are created not just by the
Constitution - nor by the courts - nor by the officers of the law - nor by the
lawyers - but by the men and women who constitute our society-who are
protectors of the law as they are themselves protected by the law.

He was right. And what better way to encourage those we serve of the need for
their commitment to this partnership than through our own example. We set the
standard and with that comes great privilege and responsibility.

Now let me turn to the second important partnership I spoke of earlier - this
Department's partnership with you and your communities. Let me be clear: the
Justice Department today is committed to partnering with state, local and
tribal law enforcement in community policing efforts to help meet challenges
for resources needed to sustain and grow this proven strategy, in terms of new
cops on the beat, improved technology, and innovative new initiatives. We
will listen to you, and we will work with you, to help meet our respective
missions and our common goals.

I had the privilege of serving in the Department a decade ago under Attorney
General Reno and then-Deputy Attorney General Holder. Under their leadership,
this Department helped put 100,000 new officers on the streets through the
COPS program. The result was a dramatic drop in crime rates in this country.
In fact, a 2002 study by the University of Nebraska demonstrated the direct
link between community policing strategies and the drop in crime rates during
the 1990s. The community policing model still works and will be a centerpiece
of this Department's anti-crime strategy.

This Administration is eager to again shine a spotlight on community policing,
even as we work with each of you to develop and support innovations reflecting
today's realities.

For example, recruiting and hiring officers and deputies motivated by the
service mission of policing may require new thinking about how policing
services are delivered. It already demands innovative and creative ways to
reach those who have lived only in a digital age. With that in mind, under
the leadership of Sheriff Doug Gillespie - who is here with us today - the Las
Vegas Metropolitan Police Department's Protect the City campaign is designed
to attract a new generation of police officer. The Las Vegas multimedia
strategy reinforces the Department's fundamental values of accountability,
compassion, innovation, and integrity.

As Deputy Attorney General, I look forward to working with all of you and your
colleagues on this challenge and the many other challenges confronting law
enforcement - and it's a long list.

There are those around the world who threaten our very way of life; far too
many communities continue to be plagued by gangs, drugs, and violence; and the
current economic downturn has already meant an upswing of crime in some areas.

In places like Pittsburgh and Binghamton, where indescribable grief follows
senseless violence, we are reminded of the dangers that lurk out there and the
courage it takes to put on a uniform and go to work every day.

Our ability to enhance public safety has never been greater. Two-way
communication, effective leadership, better leveraging of limited resources,
and innovative technology, will give us an unmatched ability to share
information, collaborate and problem-solve.

I'm proud of the work that is already been done to target Mexican drug
cartels, end human trafficking, and crackdown on mortgage scams. And I am
pleased to report to you that after years of neglect and inadequate funding,
the Justice Department is once again able to support your efforts with much
needed resources through the COPS Office, the Office of Justice Programs, and
the Office of Violence Against Women. These three offices combined have $4
billion in Recovery Act funds to support state, local and tribal law
enforcement efforts. They also have additional funding in their FY09 budgets.
With the ultimate aim of protecting the public and preserving the timeless
values that make our nation unique, we intend to model partnership and
effective problem solving in our work with you; to be a resource to you as you
lead your agencies; and to listen to your ideas as we set and adjust our own
direction.

We are fortunate to have an Attorney General who reveres the law, loves this
honorable institution, and understands the importance of working closely with
our law enforcement partners. In Associate Attorney General Tom Perrelli, we
have a leader who brings a wealth of public and private legal experience to
help guide the Department's support for state, local, and tribal law
enforcement through his oversight of the Office of Justice Programs, the COPS
Office, and the Office of Violence against Women.

It is an honor to serve with them and an honor to be with you today. I look
forward to working with all of you to protect our communities.

SOURCE U.S. Department of Justice

U.S. Department of Justice Office of Public Affairs, +1-202-514-2007, TDD
+1-202-514-1888