U.S. Attorney Erin Nealy Cox Testifies Before Senate Judiciary Committee

U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Erin Nealy Cox testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday, June 16. You can watch the full hearing -- entitled "Police Use of Force and Community Relations" -- here.

Below is the U.S. Attorney's prepared opening statement: 

Good afternoon Chairman Graham, Ranking Member Feinstein, and members of the Committee; thank you for inviting us to testify today. I also want to thank my home state Senators, Senators Cornyn and Cruz, for their unwavering support all our efforts in my District.

I am Erin Nealy Cox, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Texas and Chair of the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee. In those roles, I’m proud to serve as the chief federal law enforcement officer for more than 8 million Texans, as well as an advocate for prosecutorial priorities nationwide.

I know I’m appearing at a time of great turmoil in this country. I start with this: Police brutality in any form is repugnant and unacceptable.  It is impossible not to feel anger and sadness when watching the video of George Floyd’s tragic killing.   Actions like this and others we have witnessed rightly erode trust in law enforcement as a whole and tarnish the badge of the vast majority of officers who serve honorably.   

It’s vital that law enforcement speak out against officers who bring great dishonor upon the profession.  At the Department, our character and commitment to justice compel us to speak out as well as listen to and empathize with those who suffer the most when law enforcement falls short in our duty to protect them.  So on behalf of the 93 United States Attorneys, we condemn this conduct and we commit to be united, determined, deeply engaged, and thoughtful in our collective efforts to help bring about meaningful change on the issues at this moment in history.  We steadfastly join with the Attorney General and the Deputy Attorney General in their commitment to restore confidence in the American criminal justice system for all.

Mr. Floyd’s death, and the resulting outrage, tears at the very fabric of our communities.  This divide is particularly disheartening to me, because for the past two years, in my District we’ve been spearheading a public safety program built on the notion that positive, meaningful relationships between police and the people they serve can transform struggling communities. Project Safe Neighborhoods – the cornerstone of DOJ’s anti-violent-crime strategy – can help us ensure equal justice under the law. 

We launched our first PSN project in Dallas in April 2018, targeting a neighborhood that – for decades -- was plagued by violent crime.  As with any law enforcement initiative, one of PSN Dallas’s goal was to root out offenders – members of violent gangs, and drug traffickers who terrorized residents daily. 

Importantly though, we felt that we needed to build relationships of trust within the community for our program to be successful.  So we deployed a consistent and compassionate team of Officers and Agents that earnestly wanted to form relationships with the people in the neighborhood. And we took steps to foster a community that felt empowered to approach our officers for help – with the assurance that they would be met with respect.

To accomplish this, we took several steps: 

- We’ve hosted more than 100 community meetings with neighborhood groups, apartment managers, faith leaders, and school teachers to share our vision for the neighborhood and solicit advice on how to achieve it.

- Based on community feedback, our PSN task force worked to shut down seedy convenience stores, game rooms, and other establishments that were spawning crime. 

- And we’ve used important grant money to implement what’s called “crime prevention through environmental design,” working with a non-profit organization to redesign a central community square. This vibrant plaza now boasts a mini-lending library, recreation tables, and a child’s craft area. Since completion of the project, the plaza hasn’t seen a single act of violence.
 

Our PSN engagement has yielded real results. Even as Dallas’ citywide crime rate increased dramatically, inside the PSN area, violent crime decreased. Community members have been vocal in their support.

USAs across the country are having similar success stories and success breeds success.  And so we launched programs out of our other district offices – in Amarillo, Lubbock, and elsewhere.

The results have been undeniably positive. In its first year, PSN Amarillo achieved a 13% reduction of violent crime inside the targeted areas, and PSN Lubbock, using the same community-based approach, achieved a 26% reduction in aggravated assaults, and a 25% reduction in business robberies. 

That is tangible results:  violence going down, trust within the community is coming up, and lives impacted for the better. 

The people of these communities have joined together with law enforcement – united in a singular goal.  I have witnessed it working first hand in the communities we serve.

I look forward to telling you more about my experience and answering your questions.

For more on the Northern District of Texas' Project Safe Neighborhoods initiatives, click here.