U.S. Attorney Attends the Violent Crime Reduction Summit

Tulsa, Okla. – U.S. Attorney Clint Johnson attended the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) Violent Crime Reduction Summit: Partnerships for Safer Communities, in Indianapolis, Indiana. The Violent Crime Reduction Summit (Summit) brought together local leadership and federal partners from Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) and National Public Safety Partnership (PSP) sites.

More than 1,100 attended the Summit to discuss violence reduction strategies, identify evidence-informed practices to increase public safety, enhance partnerships in the participating communities, and reduce violent crime.  U.S. Attorney Johnson was accompanied by Assistant U.S. Attorney and NDOK PSN Coordinator John Brasher, Cherokee Nation Deputy Marshal Erik Fuson, Muscogee (Creek) Nation Tribal Deputy Chief Daniel Wind, Tulsa Police Department Majors Mark Wollmershauser Jr. and Richard Alexander and Tulsa Police Department Sergeant Jeremy Ballard.

Attorney General Merrick B. Garland announced in the opening session the release of the Justice Department’s Violent Crime Reduction Roadmap. This is a one-stop shop to assist local jurisdictions in developing, implementing, and evaluating strategies to prevent, intervene in, and respond to violent crime. The Roadmap is part of a comprehensive Justice Department strategy to help connect jurisdictions with the information and resources they need to meet the complex and evolving challenges to help reduce violent crime.

In Dec. 2022, Tulsa hosted the National PSP Violent Crime Reduction Summit. More than 500 key stakeholders from PSP sites attended, as well as DOJ officials, experts, local and federal law enforcement. The Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco delivered the opening remarks. The attendees examined evidence-based practices to increase public safety while reducing violent crime. They further discussed how to enhance partnerships within the participating communities.

“The Northern District of Oklahoma is working hard to address violent crime at every level,” said U.S. Attorney Clint Johnson. “Tulsa hosted the National PSP Violent Crime Reduction last December. The Roadmap will strengthen then ongoing collaboration between local, federal and tribal partners ability to address violent crime. I’m pleased to know that the resources made available can support our local, federal, and tribal partners.”

Dozens of Justice Department resources available from the Roadmap are organized around actions outlined in Saving Lives: Ten Essential Actions Cities Can Take to Reduce Violence Now, developed by the Council on Criminal Justice, a nonpartisan think tank for the criminal justice field.

The Police Executive Research Forum, funded by OJP’s Bureau of Justice Assistance, will provide local jurisdictions with tailored training and technical assistance on how to implement the 10 essential actions and utilize the Justice Department’s resources identified in the Roadmap, to reduce violent crime while building community trust. Training and technical assistance offerings include specialized expertise to help organizations solve problems and build capacity, and they provide direct connections to subject matter experts as well as how-to materials.