WASHINGTON -- President Donald Trump this week spoke to law enforcement officials at the Major County Sheriffs and Major Cities Chiefs Association Joint Conference in Washington, D.C.
Trump opened his address on Wednesday by saying "I have a lot of friends in this room" and thanked several law enforcement leaders by name for their efforts including Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo and Phoenix Police Chief Jeri Williams.
"It's an honor to address so many amazing police chiefs, and sheriffs, and superintendents from our nation's largest cities and counties," he said. "Together, you represent hundreds of thousands of extraordinary law enforcement officials and personnel all across our nation. I’ve come to deliver a very important message from the American people to you: Thank you."
Trump told them that the American people love and respect them -- even though they may not hear it all of the time.
"I want to thank you for what you do in defending our streets and keeping America safe. You and the officers have just done an incredible job. And you love what you do," he said. "You wouldn’t trade it for anything. I know very few people in your profession that would want to do anything else."
The president said that when he took office two years ago, one of his highest priorities was to reduce violent crime. In the two years before his inauguration, violent crime increased by 8 percent nationwide, and murders were up by more than 20 percent.
"The cornerstone of our strategy is revitalizing one of the most effective crime reduction initiatives in history: Project Safe Neighborhoods," he said. "This program brings together law enforcement, community groups, and local leaders to get the most violent offenders, in the most dangerous areas, off our streets and put them behind bars as quickly and easily as possible."
Last year, the Trump administration secured $50 million in funding Project Safe Neighborhoods, and this year it is asking Congress for even more funding.
"We’ve deployed nearly 200 new violent crime prosecutors across our country. In 2018, my administration prosecuted more violent criminals than ever before in the history of our country," he said. "And we’ve increased the average sentence for drug trafficking to its highest level in many years."
He said that through the combined effort of everyone here today, violent crime is now going down for the first time in years and murders in America's largest cities dropped by 6 percent compared to 2016.
"The police departments here today have provided us with new homicide data showing steep declines over the last two years, including an estimated reduction of 16 percent in New Orleans, 27 percent in Newark, and 30 percent in Milwaukee. That’s great. Three places — that’s a great job you’re doing in those three places, especially," he said.
Trump said that his administration understands that reducing crime begins with respecting law enforcement.
"We will not tolerate smears, or slanders, or assaults on those who wear the badge and police our streets," he said. "In order to keep every American safe, we are making officer safety a top priority."
In support of that goal, more than $600 million worth of surplus military equipment has been made available to law enforcement.
Speaking one day before the Parkland school massacre, Trump said that his administration is focused on keeping the nation's schools safe.
"We enacted the Fix NICS Act and the STOP School Violence Act, which gives grants to schools and law enforcement to improve safety," he said. "My administration also formed a School Safety Commission that recently released its official report, which includes nearly 100 detailed recommendations that really work and really make sense, based on input from families, educators, mental health practitioners, and law enforcement. Now we must work together to turn these recommendations into reality."
He also spoke of the importance of stopping illegal immigration at the county's southern border with Mexico.
"Illegal immigration provides a lucrative cash flow to some of the most dangerous criminal organizations on the planet. These deadly cartels flood our cities with narcotics that kill thousands of our citizens, ruin families," he said. They use fear, intimidation, and violence to get their way, and they terrorize innocent communities on both sides of the border."
He stated that to defeat transnational gangs, the country must "fully and completely secure the border." He said that means more law enforcement, closing legal loopholes, ending catch-and-release, ending sanctuary cities, and finishing the border wall."
He ended his speech by reiterating his love and respect for law enforcement.
"To every police chief and sheriff here today, and to every officer and deputy across America — to all of law enforcement: We will never forget your service, and we will never, ever let you down. We will never let you down," he said. "We greatly respect you, we love you, and we thank God for you each and every day."
