Violent Crime Reduction Summit 2023: Partnerships for Safer Communities

MERRICK GARLAND: The Justice Department is putting to use every resource at our disposal in the fight against violent crime. We know that no one law enforcement agency, no one community, no one town or city can address these challenges on its own. We need each other. We need to work together.

VANITA GUPTA: Whether you are in law enforcement to protect and serve, a prosecutor working to keep your community safe, a community leader and service provider to reach those in need, or a local leader pledged to safeguard the welfare of your constituents, your jobs are difficult. They can be dangerous. And make no mistake, they are utterly indispensable.

KARHLTON MOORE: Through this conference, it is a first step in our continuing effort to spread the best practices, the best knowledge, the best information to every practitioner across this country. Because don't they deserve it? 

SPEAKER: This violent crime summit is imperative. 

ERIC MAYO: Summits like this, we are able to identify different resources we could utilize to combat violent crime, and we're all on the same path. But bringing us together here really allows us the best way to move forward.

KRISTIE BRACKENS: Law enforcement, they need the support and they need the tools. And so, we have lots of different workshops and plenary sessions where they're learning about the best practices that are happening in different communities across the country to support them in their violent crime fight.

DARNELL DAVENPORT: We must share and we must collaborate if we're to be effective as a law enforcement community. 

GREG JACKSON: The way that we address this crisis is by first starting with serving and healing those who have been most impacted by this crisis. 

AQEELA SHERRILLS: I'm no novice to violence. I witnessed it all of my life. But nothing ever prepares you for the loss of your child.

ROSILYN TEMPLE: We got to get in front of it. Retaliation with meeting the families where they're at and talking to them. But also telling them the truth. We got to stop turning our heads.

PAUL NOEL: Crime reduction cannot come at the expense of not treating people with dignity and respect.

RONALD DAVIS: As we are doing this noble fight against violence, it comes at great cost to your officers, our deputies, and your staff.

ALTOVISE LOVE-CRAIGHEAD: And when officers better understand what trauma looks like, it makes our jobs better. It makes our profession better. It builds relationships and it builds trust with the community.

KARHLTON MOORE: This is an empathetic group of people. And the people who are doing this work care deeply, not just about themselves and their colleagues, but about the community that they serve.

MERRICK GARLAND: Our work together is our best hope to fulfill the promise that brought all of us here, that we will protect each other.

AMY SOLOMON: We take stock of the many lessons learned and chart a way forward in our efforts to reduce violent crime and strengthen communities.