[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 194 (Thursday, October 6, 2016)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 69383-69384]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-24374]


 
 
                         Presidential Documents 
 
 

  Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 194 / Thursday, October 6, 2016 / 
Presidential Documents  

[[Page 69383]]


                Proclamation 9513 of September 30, 2016

                
National Community Policing Week, 2016

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                Police officers are essential members of our 
                communities--maintaining our way of life depends on 
                their dedicated efforts to keep us safe. These officers 
                hold significant civic and law enforcement 
                responsibilities and put their lives at risk to protect 
                us each day, at times facing some of the most adverse 
                circumstances imaginable. The overwhelming majority of 
                police officers are fair, dedicated, and honest public 
                servants who strive daily to cultivate and sustain 
                positive relationships with the communities they serve 
                and protect. As recent tragedies have illustrated, 
                however, it is clear that there are still too many 
                places in America where these relationships are 
                strained and where officers and community members have 
                struggled to build and maintain trust.

                During National Community Policing Week, we reaffirm 
                our commitment to supporting and advancing the practice 
                of community policing and to fortifying the bonds 
                between police officers and communities. Community 
                policing recognizes that law enforcement cannot solve 
                public safety problems alone and encourages interactive 
                partnerships with relevant stakeholders--including 
                community groups, nonprofits, faith-based 
                organizations, and businesses. This active 
                collaboration can improve public trust and fortify 
                relationships, not only advancing public safety, but 
                also deepening social connectivity and creating lasting 
                solutions to challenging problems we face every day.

                The underlying tensions that sometimes exist between 
                law enforcement officers and communities span decades 
                and reflect a breadth of social and cultural 
                challenges, including racial and socioeconomic 
                disparities. Through meaningful efforts to strengthen 
                community policing, we can meet these challenges, 
                improve these vital relationships, and make real and 
                lasting progress. Together, we can take constructive 
                steps to support our women and men in uniform while 
                instilling confidence in the fairness of the justice 
                system for everybody and ensuring that law enforcement 
                officers discharge their duties impartially.

                A critical part of enhancing trust is making certain 
                that when an incident occurs, the public is confident 
                that an investigation is fair and effective--both for 
                the officer and for the families of those who have been 
                affected. We must also work with law enforcement on 
                training, hiring, and recruiting techniques and provide 
                support and proper resources as they deal with the 
                challenges of the job. In 2015, I announced a Task 
                Force on 21st Century Policing to bring together 
                community leaders and law enforcement to provide 
                recommendations to help us build the kind of trust we 
                need. In the time since the Task Force issued a report 
                of their findings, we have seen progress with respect 
                to data gathering, training, transparency, and 
                community outreach--and communities across America are 
                working to implement these recommendations. We must 
                also recognize that we cannot keep expecting police to 
                solve the issues we fail to address as a society, 
                including poverty, substandard schools, inadequate job 
                opportunities, and lack of care for mental illnesses or 
                substance use disorders; doing so contributes to unrest 
                in communities and exacerbates tensions.

[[Page 69384]]

                My Administration has worked to bridge divides and 
                bolster community policing efforts across our country. 
                In 2014, the Department of Justice (DOJ) launched the 
                National Initiative for Building Community Trust and 
                Justice to invest in training, evidence-based 
                strategies, and research to help reduce implicit bias 
                and enhance procedural justice and reconciliation. The 
                DOJ has provided additional resources to the Office of 
                Community Oriented Policing Services for hiring police 
                officers across America and advancing 21st-century 
                policing efforts. We are also continuing to provide 
                millions of dollars in grants to agencies that 
                demonstrate robust community policing initiatives. Last 
                year, the White House and the DOJ launched the Police 
                Data Initiative to encourage law enforcement, 
                technologists, and researchers to use data to increase 
                transparency and strengthen accountability between 
                community members and police. And this summer, we 
                launched the Data-Driven Justice Initiative to equip 
                law enforcement officers with the tools they need to 
                safely and effectively divert low-level offenders with 
                mental illnesses out of the criminal justice system. 
                The Federal Government must continue to partner with 
                State and local leaders, as well as the law enforcement 
                community, to expand best practices that increase trust 
                and public safety.

                Every American has the power to make change in their 
                communities. By working together to improve law 
                enforcement practices and ensure we give both police 
                officers and community members the respect they 
                deserve, we can fulfill this important endeavor. This 
                week, let us rededicate ourselves to building a future 
                in which police officers are honored for their 
                sacrifices and supported by their communities and in 
                which members of those communities can truly feel they 
                are being served fairly and justly by our women and men 
                in blue.

                NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the 
                United States of America, by virtue of the authority 
                vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the 
                United States, do hereby proclaim October 2 through 
                October 8, 2016, as National Community Policing Week. I 
                call upon law enforcement agencies, elected officials, 
                and all Americans to observe this week by recognizing 
                ways to improve public safety, rebuild trust, and 
                strengthen community relationships.

                IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 
                thirtieth day of September, in the year of our Lord two 
                thousand sixteen, and of the Independence of the United 
                States of America the two hundred and forty-first.
                
                
                    (Presidential Sig.)

[FR Doc. 2016-24374
Filed 10-5-16; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3295-F7-P