Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke Delivers Remarks at the Program Commemorating the 30th Anniversary of the Justice Department’s Police Reform Statute

Remarks as Delivered

What a great program. I just want to thank all of you for being a part of this really urgent conversation and close with some observations based on what we heard from our speakers today.

One, this work is about principles that lie at the heart of our democracy. It is about constitutional policing and safeguarding people's basic and fundamental civil and constitutional rights. It is about the right to be free from excessive use of force, free from unreasonable searches and seizures. It’s about freedom of speech. And it is about ensuring that our government doesn't treat you differently because of your race or your ethnicity or your disability.

[Two,] we’ve also heard today that we've got to approach this work with the urgency that it demands. Unlawful policing undercuts the work of law-abiding officers and takes a real toll on communities. And all too often, the consequences are tragic, and Tamika Palmer reminds us about that every single moment of every day.

Three, that we’ve got to acknowledge that some police departments are not waiting. In many cases, there are police departments that are being proactive and taking steps that are modeled off of the reforms set by our consent decrees. We need more of that; we are not going to litigate our way out of this crisis, or litigate our way toward police reforms. So I want to acknowledge the police departments out there doing the right thing.

Four, there are police officers who embrace this work. There are police officers who welcome reform. They want policies and training that equip them to minimize violence. They want clear rules for what they can and can not do. They want practical strategies that they can use on the street. They want stronger supervision and accountability.

Five, consent decrees are not forever. At some point we put the baton back into the hands of cities and communities. And in fact, we are doing that today as we end a settlement agreement with the City of Yonkers, New York, and the Yonkers Police Department as they have successfully implemented all of the reforms called for by our agreement. And we saw crime there drop substantially during the 2017-2023 lifeline of our agreement.

Consent decrees are successful, impactful and transformative. You’ve heard about some of those success stories today. I just want to remind all of you that it's not just about reducing use of force. Our 12601 work for example has had a dramatic impact in Ferguson, Missouri, where officials have revised their court policies and procedures to eliminate the profit incentives underlying its exploitative policing practices. The city reduced its charges from 21,00 a year before our investigation to 5,000 cases per year three years after it entered a consent decree.

And in Baltimore, the police department has reduced its arrests for certain nonviolent misdemeanor offenses. And the city has stepped up its investment in violence prevention — a significant shift from the era of zero tolerance policing and clearing corners strategy that we encountered when we first got there.

And finally, policing reform and public safety go hand in hand, a point Tom Perez made earlier.

In Newark, New Jersey, and I know we have people from Newark here, for example, violent crime fell about 40% from 2016, when the consent decree took effect. A 40% drop from 2016 to 2022. And in Baltimore, crime decreased 13% between April 2023 and April 2024, including a 20% drop in violent crime.

So let’s take all of these lessons that we have heard today and get to work and roll up our sleeves. This work is incredibly important. I want to acknowledge all of the community organizing and advocacy that goes into shining a spotlight on the communities where the need for our work and our attention is most urgent. But I also just want to thank all of you, all of the community members, the former and current Justice Department attorneys here with us, city and police officials, the independent monitors and the judges. It takes a village and this village is one that we should all be incredibly proud of. We’ve done a whole lot of work over the past 30 years but we still got a lot of work to do on the road ahead.

Thank you so much for being here and for being a part of the conversation today. And allow me, if you will, to give the last word to Tamika Palmer.