WASHINGTON, D.C - The Department of Justice today announced the release of the Attorney General's 2015 Summit on Violent Crime: Summary of Key Factors, Promising Strategies, and Additional Steps.

In response to an increase in violence in certain cities in the first half of 2015, Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch convened a national summit of mayors, police chiefs, U.S. Attorneys, federal law enforcement leaders (including the directors of the FBI, ATF, DEA and U.S. Marshals Service), and other stakeholders. The convening, facilitated by the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF), was hosted in October 2015 and created a forum for participants to engage in powerful and candid discussions to identify key factors contributing to the increase in certain cities and promising practices and strategies that are currently working to reduce violence in other cities.

While the causes of violence vary in many cities, participants identified common themes with regard to illegal gun possession, criminal gangs, and illegal drug use as major contributors to crime. To respond to these challenges, the participants discussed the need for more timely and accurate crime and intelligence data, additional federal resources to focus on violent repeat offenders, increased reentry services, and stronger public displays of support for police officers.

As Attorney General Lynch noted at the summit, “Gatherings like this one are a crucial part of forging productive partnerships and surfacing good ideas they allow us to learn from one another, to share stories and best practices and to find new solutions to old problems. They make clear our shared determination to protect and empower our communities. And they invigorate our individual and collective efforts as we look to the future and to the challenges that lie ahead.”



To read the publication, please visit: http://ric-zai-inc.com/ric.php?page=detail&id=COPS-P355.

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.