Operator. Enjoy the rest of your day. [captions Copyright National cable satellite corp. 2015] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. Visit ncicap. Org] coming up later today a discussion on the outlook for consumers and patients in the health care market. Well hear about the plans that are available. The event is hosted by the alliance for health reform. It begins noon eastern on cspan3. The annual summer meeting of the National Governors association with the opening session with remarks from john hickenlooper, and gary herbert, device chair. That starts at 12 45 eastern. On cspan3 a briefing with the latest update on the new Horizons Mission to pluto. We will hear a discussion on the latest results from the spacecrafts flight past pluto. That breathing starts live at 2;00 eastern. And now remarks from loretta lynch. She spoke at the National BlackProsecutors Association earlier this week and was honored with the top award during their annual meeting. The comments are about half an hour. Our attorney general has dedicated her life to public service. Two president ial appointments for the Eastern District of new york. She received her jd from harvard law in 1984. She served with distinction first on the front lines, and then while running a Branch Office to her two terms as United States attorney. She oversaw one of the nations premier litigation offices representing the United States and three of the five boroughs of new york city, including both suburban counties on long island. Her district at the time encompassed 8 Million People of diverse backgrounds. As the top Law Enforcement officer in new york, she oversaw all criminal investigations and prosecuted virtually every type of crime. She made Community Outreach a priority. She brings this background to benefit our nation. General lynch is the 83rd attorney general sworn in in 2015 and is the first africanamerican woman to hold this position. [applause] ms. Pearson the president s award of excellence is awarded to an individual organization that has demonstrated Outstanding Achievement in service and commitment to furthering the overall objectives of the National BlackProsecutors Association. , which is the advancement and education, Recruitment Retention of africanamerican prosecutors, upholding the honor and dignity of the bar cultivating relationships among the nations prosecutors perpetuating the history of the profession and providing service to the community. To me, it is simple. I along with the other members watch with pride as attorney general lynch took on drug dealers and terrorists in new york. We shared with the nomination cheered when the nomination was announced because we knew it was well deserved. We marveled as she handled question after question that was thrown at her with cool calm, and the collected manner we had expected from her. And we cheered on confirmation day. This is the pride of the ascent of a fellow member who supported us all the way. As the president of the National BlackProsecutors Association it is the greatest honor in my career to be able to present the attorney general with this award, because she has been a role model to me as an africanamerican female prosecutor, and to so many others. General lynch, the words he spoke three so true. We do not look to revenge and retribution. We look to the law. Thank you for being the academy of what we all strive the epi tome of what we strive to be as prosecutors. The award is presented to loretta lynch. [applause] ms. Lynch whew. Well, here we all are. It is such a pleasure to be here today. I want to wish all of you a good afternoon. I have seen the agenda and i have been here before. It is such a pleasure to see everyone. I want to thank you for that gracious and kind introduction. Thank you so much. And also for your leadership of this Outstanding Organization that i know means so much to so many. Former president , where is bruce . How are you doing . You served again with pride and distinction. Thank you for your service, as well. [applause] ms. Lynch both your current and former president have been on the front lines that every lack prosecutor faces each day. Sometimes the fight to win for your place. I think both of them for their efforts and inspiration to all of you and to me. I think this organization. National black Prosecutors Associationha been a stalwarts to this cause has been a stalwart to this cause. I am so happy to see you all. It is a pleasure to stand with you as you move forward in the work. There is nothing more humbling than to receive a reward an award from your peers. This means the world to me, this award of excellence. It has been i will treasure this because i treasure all of you, and i want you to know that. So thank you so much. For more than three decades, nbpa has provided the encouragement that i have received from this organization. You have always been looking outward to the countless individuals who want to contribute to Law Enforcement and Public Safety. That is not always an easy road. This organization has focused on training, on increasing the ability of our Law Enforcement personnel to perform their duties with professionalism and excellence. And more to the point ever since i have known this organization, you have focused on supporting our young people. Our Young Mothers and sisters who were searching for a way to join the ranks of prosecutors to find their way in this great profession of hours. By building that pipeline and by supporting our younger lawyers you are ensuring the viability for years to come, the viability of our ideals, our vision, and our sense of justice, for years to come. I thank you so much for those efforts over the years. They are truly needed and important and so singular. This is a particularly significant moment for Law Enforcement across the country. In recent years, this nation has begun to question a whole host of things, things that nbpa have long had on their radar. Were questioning some Law Enforcement functions, starting at the reentry. All of these things are part of the national debate. All to the good. We have begun to question our reliance on incarceration. Does it really work . When you begun to make our criminal Justice System more efficient and more fair. But this is nothing new for National Black prosecutors. Nbpa has been at the forefront of all of these issues. I have heard these themes through my meetings and interactions over the years. You have been the voice of lawful consideration, the voice of inclusion. You are the voice that speaks for all who are impacted by our criminal Justice System. At no time is your voice more needed and more necessary than now. We need you to stay involved in all of these issues and to continue to lead the way and to be the voice for change, reason, and fairness in our system. I am proud to say the department of justice is committed to these efforts. Two years ago my predecessor eric holder, launched the initiative, a groundbreaking endeavor designed to rethink the way we thought about these criminal justice issues from the beginning, from the inception of a case, to keep the focus on individualized justice that every defendant deserves few get, at the forefront of all of our decisions. The Justice Department modified its charging policies for certain lowlevel this is done to ensure the individuals convicted of a crime would face sentences that reflected their liability, but they would be commensurate with their conduct and it would enable us to direct our resources where they belong, toward the drug kingpins, the leaders, the organizers, the people who pull in the we have refocused attention on a range of evidencebased, diversion programs like drug rehabilitation trying to reduce recidivism, and to lessen the burden on officers. We have improved our focus on reentry and on presumption on prevention. I want to talk about reentry. So many people in this room have been a leader in this field. We have an obligation to help our formally incarcerated individuals return as productive citizens. Not just because it reduces crime, but because once they come back, they are under our care too. They are under our charge. We have an obligation to protect them. Many of these efforts include directing every u. S. Attorneys office to designate a reentry coordinator in his or her district, as well as working with our Law Enforcement partners to examine the ways in which states can assist us to mitigate the consequences of incarceration. It is as simple as let them vote. Let them vote. [applause] ms. Lynch when people have paid their debt to society, let them vote. We have pushed back against these owner rents zerotolerance School Discipline policies. We know that discipline is important in schools and educators have to have a way to manage their classrooms. Too often what starts out as a way to manage our children turns into a system that sends our young people, particularly our young boys of color into the criminal Justice System rather than the principals office. We all know when we interrupt education, particularly at those early stages, and we are talking very often about Elementary School children, they often never get back on track. We have to be involved in that debate as well. This is an area in which i call for nbpas voice to the loud and strong. Please are very important steps the department is taking. They are having significant effects. We have been relying upon our prosecutors across the country using their discretion thoughtfully, with a great appreciation for the role that prosecutors play. We are also looking throughout the system as well, in terms of our clemency, looking at offenders who have served much more time than they would have under our current sentencing regime and trying to find a way that while they have paid their debt to society they still have a chance to reenter it, as well. President obama spoke at the naacp last night and he noted we are pursuing mandatory sentences about 20 less often than before. Some people were concerned about this. Valid concerns about the safety of our community. We are solving as many cases as before. We are achieving as many pleas in these cases as before. Last year, with the evidence we have our countrys crime rate and incarceration rate declined for the first time in four decades. The first time in four decades. [applause] ms. Lynch we can do this. We are doing this. But we need everybodys voice to continue this effort. We are going to build on this progress. I will be examining the use of solitary confinement in our prison system, as a federal and the state levels. We are working closely with supporters of criminal justice in congress to achieve muchneeded legislation. Ill bet you never thought congress would get anything done. [laughter] ms. Lynch but this has a chance of working. We are committed to this effort. I plan to strengthen the way we carry a justice at a local level, in our towns neighborhoods and city streets by beginning with a priority, focusing on the relationship between officers and the communities that we all serve. You know better how important these relationships are. You recognize that for too many that for far too long, and have looked at Law Enforcement is something imposed upon them, not as someone coming to help us. You know what that does to a community and to a people. It leaves that without someone to call when they are cold and lonely and frightened. Without someone to look out for them when they feel threatened. It leads them l eaveeaves then without hope. This is unacceptable. This cannot be allowed to continue. We know all communities deserve better. They deserve the full protection of the law. They deserve to know that Law Enforcement is looking out for them, protecting them as opposed to trying to break them. They deserve this commitment. We know the benefits of a positive relationship between Law Enforcement and the community, because we have seen that. When officers and residents share this connection, the residents are more likely to help out with investigations. Victims feel safer coming forward. All of us can better protect everyone in those communities. We also know repairing the divide we have seen across this nation will take all of our best efforts, from those of us charged with prosecuting misconduct to the members who understand the neighborhoods the best and can give us muchneeded insight. One of the ways im working on this priority is i have begun a sixcity tour, a communitypolicing tour to highlight new practices that are focused on strengthening these connections. I have seen important signs of progress. We have selected cities because they have had challenging relationships between Law Enforcement and the community. A shooting, violence between residents and Law Enforcement and were looking for communities that have found a way out. Sometimes through close working relationships that they have set up. Were looking to highlight the ways in which they had been effective and use them as a model for communities across the nation who see these problems on the horizon or who are enmeshed in them themselves. Ive been to cincinnati, birmingham, east haven connecticut. I spoke with leaders from all backgrounds who talk about their collaboration as one that required constant engagement to transform the Police Department and it nation ship with the citizens and its relationships with its citizens. Cincinnati is now facing another challenge. Our hope is that the relationships that have been forged will Work Together to produce an informed citizenry responsive police force, and an open and transparent process towards justice in that case. That is our hope there. In birmingham, carter from members who praised Police Leadership and from young people whose new friendships with Police Officers have possibly change their perceptions of those who wear the badge. Just yesterday, a Community Still under a Consent Decree because of discriminatory fleecing toward the latino residents, we met with the victims in that case as well as the current Police Officers on the force. I heard those victims talk about not just the fear and suffering they used to endure, but the respect they now receive from the Police Department. I heard them give concrete examples of how things have improved. I heard Police Officers talked about a cultural shift that they want to institutionalize. They do not want to go back. This is what we are trying to achieve and to get, to have happen in every Community Across this country. It takes the work of Law Enforcement, faith leaders, all Community Leaders as well as young people. But it can be done. Ill be continuing this tour in pittsburgh seattle, richmond california and i looking forward to see how the collaborations in those jurisdictions have come up with are also working toward these goals. But this tour has highlighted one thing, which is the vital role that the Legal Profession has to play in advancing the cause. We can make profound and lasting changes in the wellbeing of our neighborhoods, as well as the standing of our profession. Organizations like National Black prosecutors has always been at the forefront of this. We have embraced new leadership that focuses on how do we make the system better . We have always worked to replace these assumptions with contemporary insights. I have police offer saying what they like best about their jobs is that years ago it used to be about running around and arresting people now it is about solving problems. This is something that nbpa has championed for years, as part of its training efforts and as part of its discussion that we have always had members of the Law Enforcement community. We can fulfill essential responsibility of prosecutors at all levels throughout this nation, not only to apply the law but to do justice. I think that mission is meaningful for all of us here in this room today. Ifas was said about the black experience, whenever feels his two souls two thoughts, two strivings, two warring ideals in one dark bodies and keeps it from being torn asunder. Those of us who have chosen Law Enforcement as a career feel that too, probably most of all. I have always believed that it is our presence within Law Enforcement that is vital precisely because we understand the tensions that are inherent within a Diverse Community and we understand the value of diversity, the value of having all voices at the table. We recognize the struggles to make harmony from discord, but we know it can be done. A