Executive Order on the Commission on Law Enforcement and the Administration of Justice
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, and in order to enhance public safety and support the well-ordered administration of justice, it is hereby ordered as follows:
Section 1. Purpose. Crime, especially violent crime, denies people their unalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Together as a society, we must work to prevent crime from occurring, ensure that those who perpetrate crime face justice, and assist victims in overcoming the effects of crime on their lives. My Administration is focused on reducing crime, and the social and economic problems — including family and neighborhood disintegration — that contribute to criminal behavior. In addition, the continued malign activity of transnational criminal organizations, and the widespread abuse of drugs trafficked by such groups, are challenges that confront our communities and law enforcement in their efforts to keep the American people safe.
Rigorous study of crime, including its causal factors, and current law enforcement practices is essential to assessing our current criminal justice system’s merits and opportunities for improvement. Over 85 percent of United States law enforcement personnel are State, local, and tribal officials. The Department of Justice has long respected this traditional balance of law enforcement resources while supporting State, local, and tribal law enforcement efforts with Federal resources. State and local law enforcement benefit from Federal programs and partnerships in the areas of information-sharing, collaborative enforcement operations, training and technical assistance initiatives, and Federal grants. Public safety and proper policing are issues of both national and local significance that continue to require the close cooperation and coordination between the Department of Justice and State, local, and tribal law enforcement. In particular, the Department of Justice has a historically important role in helping to develop, identify, and establish best practices for law enforcement and supporting a range of programs related to the administration of justice. My Administration builds upon that important work every day.
