Safe Policing for Safe Communities, 37325-37328 [2020-13449]

Agencies

• Executive Office of the President

[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 119 (Friday, June 19, 2020)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 37325-37328]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-13449]



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Vol. 85

Friday,

No. 119

June 19, 2020

Part V





The President





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Executive Order 13929--Safe Policing for Safe Communities



Notice of June 17, 2020--Continuation of the National Emergency With 
Respect to North Korea


                        Presidential Documents 



Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 119 / Friday, June 19, 2020 / 
Presidential Documents

___________________________________________________________________

Title 3--
The President

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                Executive Order 13929 of June 16, 2020

                
Safe Policing for Safe Communities

                By the authority vested in me as President by the 
                Constitution and the laws of the United States of 
                America, it is hereby ordered as follows:

                Section 1. Purpose. As Americans, we believe that all 
                persons are created equal and endowed with the 
                inalienable rights to life and liberty. A fundamental 
                purpose of government is to secure these inalienable 
                rights. Federal, State, local, tribal, and territorial 
                law enforcement officers place their lives at risk 
                every day to ensure that these rights are preserved.

                Law enforcement officers provide the essential 
                protection that all Americans require to raise their 
                families and lead productive lives. The relationship 
                between our fellow citizens and law enforcement 
                officers is an important element in their ability to 
                provide that protection. By working directly with their 
                communities, law enforcement officers can help foster a 
                safe environment where we all can prosper.

                Unfortunately, there have been instances in which some 
                officers have misused their authority, challenging the 
                trust of the American people, with tragic consequences 
                for individual victims, their communities, and our 
                Nation. All Americans are entitled to live with the 
                confidence that the law enforcement officers and 
                agencies in their communities will live up to our 
                Nation's founding ideals and will protect the rights of 
                all persons. Particularly in African-American 
                communities, we must redouble our efforts as a Nation 
                to swiftly address instances of misconduct.

                The Constitution declares in its preamble that one of 
                its primary purposes was to establish Justice. 
                Generations of Americans have marched, fought, bled, 
                and died to safeguard the promise of our founding 
                document and protect our shared inalienable rights. 
                Federal, State, local, tribal, and territorial leaders 
                must act in furtherance of that legacy.

                Sec. 2. Certification and Credentialing. (a) State and 
                local law enforcement agencies must constantly assess 
                and improve their practices and policies to ensure 
                transparent, safe, and accountable delivery of law 
                enforcement services to their communities. Independent 
                credentialing bodies can accelerate these assessments, 
                enhance citizen confidence in law enforcement 
                practices, and allow for the identification and 
                correction of internal deficiencies before those 
                deficiencies result in injury to the public or to law 
                enforcement officers.

                    (b) The Attorney General shall, as appropriate and 
                consistent with applicable law, allocate Department of 
                Justice discretionary grant funding only to those State 
                and local law enforcement agencies that have sought or 
                are in the process of seeking appropriate credentials 
                from a reputable independent credentialing body 
                certified by the Attorney General.
                    (c) The Attorney General shall certify independent 
                credentialing bodies that meet standards to be set by 
                the Attorney General. Reputable, independent 
                credentialing bodies, eligible for certification by the 
                Attorney General, should address certain topics in 
                their reviews, such as policies and training regarding 
                use-of-force and de-escalation techniques; performance 
                management tools, such as early warning systems that 
                help to identify officers who may require intervention; 
                and best practices regarding community engagement. The 
                Attorney General's standards for certification shall 
                require independent credentialing bodies to, at a 
                minimum, confirm that:

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(i) the State or local law enforcement agency's use-of-force policies 
adhere to all applicable Federal, State, and local laws; and

(ii) the State or local law enforcement agency's use-of-force policies 
prohibit the use of chokeholds--a physical maneuver that restricts an 
individual's ability to breathe for the purposes of incapacitation--except 
in those situations where the use of deadly force is allowed by law.

                    (d) The Attorney General shall engage with existing 
                and prospective independent credentialing bodies to 
                encourage them to offer a cost-effective, targeted 
                credentialing process regarding appropriate use-of-
                force policies that law enforcement agencies of all 
                sizes in urban and rural jurisdictions may access.

                Sec. 3. Information Sharing. (a) The Attorney General 
                shall create a database to coordinate the sharing of 
                information between and among Federal, State, local, 
                tribal, and territorial law enforcement agencies 
                concerning instances of excessive use of force related 
                to law enforcement matters, accounting for applicable 
                privacy and due process rights.

                    (b) The database described in subsection (a) of 
                this section shall include a mechanism to track, as 
                permissible, terminations or de-certifications of law 
                enforcement officers, criminal convictions of law 
                enforcement officers for on-duty conduct, and civil 
                judgments against law enforcement officers for improper 
                use of force. The database described in subsection (a) 
                of this section shall account for instances where a law 
                enforcement officer resigns or retires while under 
                active investigation related to the use of force. The 
                Attorney General shall take appropriate steps to ensure 
                that the information in the database consists only of 
                instances in which law enforcement officers were 
                afforded fair process.
                    (c) The Attorney General shall regularly and 
                periodically make available to the public aggregated 
                and anonymized data from the database described in 
                subsection (a) of this section, as consistent with 
                applicable law.
                    (d) The Attorney General shall, as appropriate and 
                consistent with applicable law, allocate Department of 
                Justice discretionary grant funding only to those law 
                enforcement agencies that submit the information 
                described in subsection (b) of this section.

                Sec. 4. Mental Health, Homelessness, and Addiction. (a) 
                Since the mid-twentieth century, America has witnessed 
                a reduction in targeted mental health treatment. 
                Ineffective policies have left more individuals with 
                mental health needs on our Nation's streets, which has 
                expanded the responsibilities of law enforcement 
                officers. As a society, we must take steps to safely 
                and humanely care for those who suffer from mental 
                illness and substance abuse in a manner that addresses 
                such individuals' needs and the needs of their 
                communities. It is the policy of the United States to 
                promote the use of appropriate social services as the 
                primary response to individuals who suffer from 
                impaired mental health, homelessness, and addiction, 
                recognizing that, because law enforcement officers 
                often encounter such individuals suffering from these 
                conditions in the course of their duties, all officers 
                should be properly trained for such encounters.

                    (b) The Attorney General shall, in consultation 
                with the Secretary of Health and Human Services as 
                appropriate, identify and develop opportunities to 
                train law enforcement officers with respect to 
                encounters with individuals suffering from impaired 
                mental health, homelessness, and addiction; to increase 
                the capacity of social workers working directly with 
                law enforcement agencies; and to provide guidance 
                regarding the development and implementation of co-
                responder programs, which involve social workers or 
                other mental health professionals working alongside law 
                enforcement officers so that they arrive and address 
                situations together. The Attorney General and the 
                Secretary of Health and Human Services shall prioritize 
                resources, as appropriate and consistent with 
                applicable law, to support such opportunities.

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                    (c) The Secretary of Health and Human Services 
                shall survey community-support models addressing mental 
                health, homelessness, and addiction. Within 90 days of 
                the date of this order, the Secretary of Health and 
                Human Services shall summarize the results of this 
                survey in a report to the President, through the 
                Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy and the 
                Director of the Office of Management and Budget, which 
                shall include specific recommendations regarding how 
                appropriated funds can be reallocated to support 
                widespread adoption of successful models and 
                recommendations for additional funding, if needed.
                    (d) The Secretary of Health and Human Services 
                shall, in coordination with the Attorney General and 
                the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, 
                prioritize resources, as appropriate and consistent 
                with applicable law, to implement community-support 
                models as recommended in the report described in 
                subsection (c) of this section.

                Sec. 5. Legislation and Grant Programs. (a) The 
                Attorney General, in consultation with the Assistant to 
                the President for Domestic Policy and the Director of 
                the Office of Management and Budget, shall develop and 
                propose new legislation to the Congress that could be 
                enacted to enhance the tools and resources available to 
                improve law enforcement practices and build community 
                engagement.

                    (b) The legislation described in subsection (a) of 
                this section shall include recommendations to enhance 
                current grant programs to improve law enforcement 
                practices and build community engagement, including 
                through:

(i) assisting State and local law enforcement agencies with implementing 
the credentialing process described in section 2 of this order, the 
reporting described in section 3 of this order, and the co-responder and 
community-support models described in section 4 of this order;

(ii) training and technical assistance required to adopt and implement 
improved use-of-force policies and procedures, including scenario-driven 
de-escalation techniques;

(iii) retention of high-performing law enforcement officers and recruitment 
of law enforcement officers who are likely to be high-performing;

(iv) confidential access to mental health services for law enforcement 
officers; and

(v) programs aimed at developing or improving relationships between law 
enforcement and the communities they serve, including through community 
outreach and listening sessions, and supporting non-profit organizations 
that focus on improving stressed relationships between law enforcement 
officers and the communities they serve.

                Sec. 6. 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,

                    June 16, 2020.

[FR Doc. 2020-13449
Filed 6-18-20; 11:15 am]
Billing code 3295-F0-P