[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 33 (Thursday, February 27, 2014)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E262-E263]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     IN RECOGNITION OF RONALD DAVIS

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. JACKIE SPEIER

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, February 27, 2014

  Ms. SPEIER. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor Ronald Davis who has been 
East Palo Alto's

[[Page E263]]

Police Chief for the last nine years and served on Oakland's Police 
Department for 19 years before that. Chief Davis has demonstrated 
outstanding leadership and innovation in reducing crime and increasing 
public trust through community policing efforts and partnerships with 
other agencies.
  His talent and skills didn't go unnoticed nationally and Chief Davis 
was appointed by Attorney General Eric Holder to lead the Office of 
Community Oriented Policing Services, COPS, at the U.S. Department of 
Justice. In his new capacity, Director Davis supports law enforcement 
allies across the country, including the East Palo Alto Police 
Department.
  Chief Davis led East Palo Alto--once known as the murder capital of 
the United States--out of one of the worst crime crises in the country. 
He launched a first of its kind partnership between a city and the 
State. The East Palo Alto Police Department partnered with the 
California Department of Correction and Rehabilitation to implement a 
parole-reentry program that provided programming and enforcement 
services and a job program with the California Department of 
Transportation. The results were amazing: the return-to-custody rates 
dropped from more than 60 percent to less than 20 percent.
  Chief Davis also worked closely with local church leaders and social 
service providers. He rehabilitated gang members by offering job and 
drug counseling along with medical care to them in exchange for giving 
up their criminal activities. He understood and was an integral part of 
his community.
  His optimism and drive to improve the system have guided his life and 
career. Davis earned his Bachelor of Science from Southern Illinois 
University and completed the Senior Executives in State and Local 
Government Program at Harvard Kennedy School of Government.
  He has co-authored multiple publications, including the National 
Institute of Justice's ``Exploring the Role of the Police in Prisoner 
Reentry,'' the Department of Justice's ``How to Correctly Collect and 
Analyze Racial Profiling Data: Your Reputation Depends on It,'' and the 
Police Executive Research Forum's ``Chief Concerns: The Use of Force.''
  In 2003, a San Mateo County Grand Jury report deemed the East Palo 
Alto police force poorly trained and management unaccountable. Chief 
Davis turned that around and leaves behind a well-trained department.
  Mr. Speaker, Chief Davis will be deeply missed by the residents of 
East Palo Alto, but he will continue his support of our community from 
Washington, DC, where he will continue his tireless fight for justice 
as the director of the Community Oriented Policing Services Office in 
the U.S. Department of Justice.

                          ____________________