Department of Justice Releases Report from First-of-its-Kind Convening with Rank-and-File Officers

WASHINGTON, D.C.  - The Department of Justice, Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office) today announced the release of its new report, Rank and File: Leaders in Building Trust and Community Policing.

Noble Wray, Chief of the COPS Office Policing Practices and Accountability Initiative, made the announcement today while presenting at the White House 21st Century Policing Briefing with local police officials from across the country. This report summarizes the first-of-its-kind forum that focused on rank-and-file officers and their perspectives about community policing and the recommendations from the final report of the President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing.

The forum was hosted in April 2016 by the COPS Office and facilitated by Strategic Applications International (SAI) and brought together 40 highly regarded police officers and deputies from across the country. The participants represented a diverse cross-section of law enforcement officers and deputies with varying backgrounds, job functions, and levels of service.

The forum gave participants an opportunity to provide direct feedback to and engage in meaningful dialogue on contemporary policing issues with senior DOJ officials, including Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch and Deputy Attorney General Sally Q. Yates.

“I extend my gratitude to the outstanding law enforcement officers who participated in this event,” said COPS Office Director Ronald Davis. “The group provided specific recommendations on officer safety and wellness, community and police relations, and the President’s Task Force of 21st Century Policing. This feedback is vitally important to advancing the task force recommendations. The COPS Office is committed to continuing these types of engagements to ensure the voices of those who work on the frontlines every day are heard, and that their perspectives play a key role in our efforts to advance community policing nationwide.”

The report, Rank and File: Leaders in Building Trust and Community Policing, is available here: http://ric-zai-inc.com/ric.php?page=detail&id=COPS-P351.

The COPS Office is a federal agency responsible for advancing community policing nationwide.  Since 1995, the COPS Office has invested more than $14 billion to advance community policing, including grants awarded to more than 13,000 state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies to fund the hiring and redeployment of more than 127,000 officers and provide a variety of knowledge resource products including publications, training and technical assistance. 

For additional information about the COPS Office, please visit www.cops.usdoj.gov