On Thursday, March 12, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced the six cities selected to participate in the National Initiative for Building Community Trust and Justice (National Initiative) pilot program. The first six National Initiative pilot sites are: Birmingham (AL), Fort Worth (TX), Gary (IN), Minneapolis (MN), Pittsburgh (PA) and Stockton (CA). A multi-faceted approach to rebuilding community trust in the justice system, the National Initiative is designed to strengthen the relationships between law enforcement and the communities they serve. As part of the pilot program, the National Initiative will work with these six cities to explore, advance, assess and disseminate information about strategies intended to enhance procedural justice, reduce implicit bias and support racial reconciliation.

For the National Initiative, the DOJ is working with a consortium of national law enforcement experts from the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, Yale Law School, the Center for Policing Equity at UCLA and the Urban Institute. In addition to the six cities selected for the National Initiative pilot program, the Office of Justice Programs Diagnostic Center will provide training and technical assistance to law enforcement agencies and cities interested in building communities of trust and justice. As a part of the technical assistance, the Diagnostic Center will develop customized response plans to help requesting communities enhance procedural justice, reduce implicit bias and strengthen racial reconciliation.

• To request National Initiative assistance, click here.
• For more information about the National Initiative visit: http://trustandjustice.org.
• To hear Attorney General Holder’s Announcement of the National Initiative sites, click here.
• For more information on other technical assistance areas that the Diagnostic Center supports, click here.