[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]
[[Page 37323]]
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
[[Page 37325]]
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:
[[Page 37326]]
(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.
[[Page 37327]]
(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.
[[Page 37328]]
(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