Listening Session Regarding Public Trust in Law Enforcement Programs

There’s still time to join the Department of Interior (DOI) for a listening session regarding public trust in Law Enforcement programs!

In July 2021, Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland announced the establishment of a new departmental law enforcement task force to implement the highest standards for protecting the public and provide necessary policy guidance, resources, and training to agency personnel. With a focus on equity and evidence-based decision making, the task force will review and identify opportunities for improvement in the law enforcement programs of the National Park Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Reclamation, Bureau of Land Management, and Bureau of Indian Affairs.

The DOI Law Enforcement Task Force is working to develop meaningful solutions to assist law enforcement and communities in strengthening trust and collaboration, while ushering the Nation into the next phase of community-focused law enforcement. DOI is conducting twelve (12) virtual listening sessions and inviting public comments to obtain stakeholder input on public perception of DOI law enforcement and understand how the Interior can best develop and maintain public trust, transparency, and legitimacy with its stakeholders.

DOI invites stakeholders, members of diverse communities, and their representatives to join us for an interactive listening session to provide feedback on questions like:

·        What are your perceptions of DOI law enforcement?  What experiences or interactions have you had with them?

·        How can the Interior best develop and maintain public trust, transparency, and legitimacy in the communities DOI LE works in or serves?

·        Is your perception of DOI LE positive or negative? Which practices does DOI LE engage in that inform your feelings about them?

·        What recommendations or suggestions would you like to see adopted by DOI law enforcement (i.e., policies and practices, measures to increase diversity in officers to reflect the community, etc.)?

Those who wish to provide additional written input or are unable to attend a listening session are encouraged to submit comments online later this month at www.regulations.gov (enter DOI-2022-0008 in the search bar to find the docket). You can submit comments on or before August 2, 2022.

We also encourage everyone to take the Customer Satisfaction Survey linked here.

You can find more information about the upcoming listening sessions below and on our website, https://www.doi.gov/oles/doi-law-enforcement-task-force.

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