Strategic Goal 3: Protect Civil Rights
The Justice Department was founded during Reconstruction to protect the civil rights promised by the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments. This work required confronting the racist conduct of the Ku Klux Klan and others who used terror and violence to keep Black Americans from exercising their rights. Today, more than 150 years after the Department’s founding, far too many Americans still face discrimination. Among other things, discrimination persists in voting, housing, and the criminal justice system, and historically underserved communities have disproportionately borne the brunt of the harm caused by pandemic, pollution, and climate change. We honor the Department’s history by committing to a whole-of-Department approach to protecting civil rights and reducing barriers to equal justice and equal enjoyment of the rights, privileges, and immunities established by the Constitution and laws of the United States.
Agency Priority Goal: Combat Hate Crimes and Promote Trust and Accountability in Law Enforcement
To promote public trust between communities and law enforcement, the Department will support efforts to make communities and policing safer while protecting individual civil rights and strengthening connections between law enforcement and the communities we serve. By September 30, 2023, the Justice Department will improve community trust in and accountability of law enforcement by: (1) increasing the percentage of federal law enforcement officers who receive Use of Force Sustained Training within a three-year period to 95%; (2) increasing the percentage of federal law enforcement officers equipped with Body Worn Cameras (BWCs), and associated training to 38% from a 2021 baseline of 1%; and (3) providing technical assistance or other support to correct unlawful policies and implement required reforms to at least 90% of jurisdictions under settled and litigated judgments in law enforcement pattern or practice cases. In addition, the Department will combat hate crimes by ensuring that 100% of U.S. Attorney’s Offices meet at least annually with local law enforcement partners and community stakeholders to collaborate on efforts to prevent hate crimes and incidents.
Enterprise Risks
- Barriers to civil rights
- Changes in the legal landscape
- Impact of technology
- Data collection and analysis limitations
- Coordination challenges
- Building trust
- Need for community support
- COVID-19 pandemic-related challenges
- Climate change
- Disparate impacts of environmental problems