[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 48 (Monday, March 12, 2018)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 10771-10774]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-05113]



[[Page 10769]]

Vol. 83

Monday,

No. 48

March 12, 2018

Part II





The President





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Executive Order 13826--Federal Interagency Council on Crime Prevention 
and Improving Reentry
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  Federal Register / Vol. 83 , No. 48 / Monday, March 12, 2018 / 
Presidential Documents  

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 Title 3--
 The President

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                Executive Order 13826 of March 7, 2018

                
Federal Interagency Council on Crime Prevention 
                and Improving Reentry

                By the authority vested in me as President by the 
                Constitution and the laws of the United States of 
                America, and in order to maximize the impact of Federal 
                Government resources to keep our communities safe, it 
                is hereby ordered as follows:

                Section 1. Purpose. The Federal Government must reduce 
                crime, enhance public safety, and increase opportunity, 
                thereby improving the lives of all Americans. In 2016, 
                the violent crime rate in the United States increased 
                by 3.4 percent, the largest single-year increase since 
                1991. Additionally, in 2016, there were more than 
                17,000 murders and nonnegligent manslaughters in the 
                United States, a more than 20 percent increase in just 
                2 years. The Department of Justice, alongside State, 
                local, and tribal law enforcement, has focused its 
                efforts on the most violent criminals. Preliminary 
                statistics indicate that, in the last year, the 
                increase in the murder rate slowed and the violent 
                crime rate decreased.

                To further improve public safety, we should aim not 
                only to prevent crime in the first place, but also to 
                provide those who have engaged in criminal activity 
                with greater opportunities to lead productive lives. 
                The Federal Government can assist in breaking this 
                cycle of crime through a comprehensive strategy that 
                addresses a range of issues, including mental health, 
                vocational training, job creation, after-school 
                programming, substance abuse, and mentoring. 
                Incarceration is necessary to improve public safety, 
                but its effectiveness can be enhanced through evidence-
                based rehabilitation programs. These efforts will lower 
                recidivism rates, ease incarcerated individuals' 
                reentry into the community, reduce future incarceration 
                costs, and promote positive social and economic 
                outcomes.

                Sec. 2. Policy. It is the policy of the United States 
                to prioritize efforts to prevent youths and adults from 
                entering or reentering the criminal justice system. 
                While investigating crimes and prosecuting perpetrators 
                must remain the top priority of law enforcement, crime 
                reduction policy should also include efforts to prevent 
                crime in the first place and to lower recidivism rates. 
                These efforts should address a range of social and 
                economic factors, including poverty, lack of education 
                and employment opportunities, family dissolution, drug 
                use and addiction, mental illness, and behavioral 
                health conditions. The Federal Government must harness 
                and wisely direct its considerable resources and broad 
                expertise to identify and help implement improved crime 
                prevention strategies, including evidence-based 
                practices that reduce criminal activity among youths 
                and adults. Through effective coordination among 
                executive departments and agencies (agencies), the 
                Federal Government can have a constructive role in 
                preventing crime and in ensuring that the correctional 
                facilities in the United States prepare inmates to 
                successfully reenter communities as productive, law-
                abiding members of society.

                Sec. 3. Establishment of the Federal Interagency 
                Council on Crime Prevention and Improving Reentry. (a) 
                There is hereby established the Federal Interagency 
                Council on Crime Prevention and Improving Reentry 
                (Council), co-chaired by the Attorney General, the 
                Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy, and the 
                Senior Advisor to the President in charge of the White

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                House Office of American Innovation, or their 
                respective designees. In addition to the Co-Chairs, the 
                Council shall include the heads of the following 
                entities, or their designees:

(i) The Department of the Treasury;

(ii) The Department of the Interior;

(iii) The Department of Agriculture;

(iv) The Department of Commerce;

(v) The Department of Labor;

(vi) The Department of Health and Human Services;

(vii) The Department of Housing and Urban Development;

(viii) The Department of Education;

(ix) The Department of Veterans Affairs;

(x) The Office of Management and Budget; and

(xi) The Office of National Drug Control Policy.

                    (b) As appropriate, and consistent with applicable 
                law, the Co-Chairs may invite representatives of other 
                agencies and Federal entities to participate in the 
                activities of the Council.
                    (c) As appropriate, the Co-Chairs may invite 
                representatives of the judicial branch to attend and 
                participate in meetings of the Council.
                    (d) The Council shall engage with Federal, State, 
                local, and tribal officials, including correctional 
                officials, to carry out its objectives. The Council 
                shall also engage with key stakeholders, such as law 
                enforcement, faith-based and community groups, 
                businesses, associations, volunteers, and other 
                stakeholders that play a role in preventing youths and 
                adults from entering or reentering the criminal justice 
                system.
                    (e) The Attorney General, in consultation with the 
                Co-Chairs, shall designate an Executive Director, who 
                shall be a full-time officer or employee of the 
                Department of Justice, to coordinate the day-to-day 
                functions of the Council.
                    (f) The Co-Chairs shall convene a meeting of the 
                Council once per quarter.
                    (g) The Department of Justice shall provide such 
                funding and administrative support for the Council, to 
                the extent permitted by law and within existing 
                appropriations, as may be necessary for the performance 
                of its functions.
                    (h) To the extent permitted by law, including the 
                Economy Act (31 U.S.C. 1535), and within existing 
                appropriations, other agencies may detail staff to the 
                Council, or otherwise provide administrative support, 
                in order to advance the Council's functions.
                    (i) The heads of agencies shall provide, as 
                appropriate and to the extent permitted by law, such 
                assistance and information as the Council may request 
                to implement this order.

                Sec. 4. Recommendations and Report. (a) The Council 
                shall develop recommendations for evidence-based 
                programmatic and other reforms, with consideration and 
                acknowledgment of potential resource limitations, to:

(i) help prevent, through programs that reduce unlawful behavior (such as 
mental and behavioral health services), youths and adults from engaging in 
criminal activity;

(ii) improve collaboration between Federal, State, local, and tribal 
governments through dissemination of evidence-based best practices to 
reduce the rate of recidivism. In identifying these practices, the Council 
shall consider factors such as:

  (A) inmates' access to education, educational testing, pre-
apprenticeships, apprenticeships, career and technical education training, 
and work programs;

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  (B) inmates' access to mentors and mentorship services during 
incarceration and as they transition back into the community;

  (C) inmates' access to mental and behavioral health services;

  (D) treatment of substance abuse and addiction for inmates;

  (E) documented trauma history assessments, victim services, violent crime 
prevention, community-based trauma-informed programs, and domestic violence 
and sexual violence support services;

  (F) family support for inmates;

  (G) available partnerships with law enforcement, faith-based and other 
community organizations, businesses, associations, and other stakeholders, 
especially through indirect funding mechanisms; and

  (H) incentives for the private sector, small businesses, and other 
nongovernmental entities to create job opportunities for individuals, 
before and after they enter the criminal justice system, using existing tax 
credit programs;

(iii) analyze effective ways to overcome barriers or disincentives to 
participation in programs related to education, housing, job placement and 
licensing, and other efforts to re-integrate offenders into society;

(iv) enhance coordination and reduce duplication of crime-prevention 
efforts across the Federal Government in order to maximize effectiveness 
and reduce costs to the taxpayer; and

(v) facilitate research in the areas described in this subsection, 
including improved access to data for research and evaluation purposes.

                    (b) The Council shall develop and present to the 
                President, through the Assistant to the President for 
                Domestic Policy:

(i) an initial report, submitted within 90 days of the date of this order, 
outlining a timeline and steps that will be taken to fulfill the 
requirements of this order; and

(ii) a full report detailing the Council's recommendations, submitted 
within 1 year of the date of this order, and status updates on their 
implementation for each year this order is in effect. The Council shall 
review and update its recommendations periodically, as appropriate, and 
shall, through the Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy, present 
to the President any updated findings.

                Sec. 5. Revocation. The Presidential Memorandum of 
                April 29, 2016 (Promoting Rehabilitation and 
                Reintegration of Formerly Incarcerated Individuals), is 
                hereby revoked.

                Sec. 6. Termination. This order (with the exceptions of 
                sections 5 and 7) and the Council it establishes shall 
                terminate 3 years after the date of this order.

                Sec. 7. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this order 
                shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:

(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or 
the head thereof; or

(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget 
relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.

                    (b) This order shall be implemented consistent with 
                applicable law and subject to the availability of 
                appropriations.

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                    (c) This order is not intended to, and does not, 
                create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, 
                enforceable at law or in equity by any party against 
                the United States, its departments, agencies, or 
                entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any 
                other person.
                
                
                    (Presidential Sig.)

                THE WHITE HOUSE,

                    March 7, 2018.

[FR Doc. 2018-05113
Filed 3-9-18; 11:15 am]
Billing code 3295-F8-P