Attorney General Loretta Lynch will stress the importance of funding and training for community policing in a House Judiciary Committee oversight hearing of the Department of Justice on Tuesday.
According to her prepared opening statement released by the committee Monday, Lynch will say her department will continue to give state and local law enforcement officers access to “funding, training, and technical assistance for critical programs and assets like body-worn cameras, de-escalation training, and education in implicit bias.”
Her comments come after a week in which two black men were killed in prominent cases of police violence, and then five Dallas police officers were killed by a black sniper.
“As we grapple with the aftermath of these events, the Department of Justice will continue to do everything in our power to build bonds of trust and cooperation between law enforcement and the communities we serve,” she said in her remarks. “That work has never been more difficult – or more important.”
Lynch will also reassure lawmakers that the Justice Department is already doing what it can to help local law enforcement departments by giving them “the tools they need and the training they require to come home safely – from funds for bulletproof vests to training in officer health, safety, and wellness.”
Last week, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., announced Lynch would testify on issues ranging from the Orlando terror attack to what the called the “disturbing politicization of the Justice Department under the Obama administration.”
Lynch’s prepared remarks don’t touch on the Hillary Clinton email scandal, something lawmakers are expected to raise during the Tuesday hearing.
Her statement does address how the Obama administration is dealing with terrorism threats in the wake of the June 13 attack that left 39 dead at Pulse nightclub in Orlando. Part of the fight against terrorism has to do with fighting threats in the “cyberspace,” she said.
But according to Lynch, tackling the most serious threats to the country means the federal government “must ensure that our resources are being deployed as wisely and as efficiently as possible, which is why we are so deeply committed to making our criminal justice system more effective and more fair.”
“One of the surest ways to reduce crime and promote prosperity is to ensure that these individuals have the help they need to successfully return to society,” Lynch said.
This will be her second appearance before the House Judiciary Committee as attorney general. The hearing takes place at Tuesday at 10 a.m.
