Keynote Speech, 1998 New Jersey Law Enforcement Summit
Chief Charles H. Ramsey
Metropolitan Police Department, Washington, DC

I first want to thank Governor Whitman and Attorney General Verniero for graciously inviting me to be your speaker this morning. I am truly honored and excited to be here. I also thank Tom O'Reilly and his staff at the Department of Law and Public Safety for their valuable assistance in helping me understand the context of this summit and its importance to public safety here in New Jersey and, I believe, across the nation. I would like to acknowledge my fellow speakers and panelists. After I sit down, I very much look forward to hearing from you, and learning from you, for the rest of the day. Finally, I want to thank—and really congratulate—all of you who are here today. Your presence, in such large numbers, at this historic summit demonstrates a concern, a commitment, a willingness to learn, explore and experiment with new ideas—all of which bodes well for the future of policing and public safety here in the state of New Jersey.

The three issues we will be dissecting today are among the most critical that we, as a society, face as we head into a new century—indeed, a new millennium. These issues—police-community race relations, youth and school violence, and illegal drug abuse—are so critical, in part, because they are inter-related. How effective we are in addressing any one of these issues has a direct impact on the other two. In a recent Los Angeles Times poll, Americans were asked to identify the leading causes of crime. Twenty-three percent said illegal drugs; twenty-two percent cited a lack of parental responsibility or family breakdown. These were the top two causes that people mentioned.

In major cities across the country, significant percentages of the people we arrest continue to test positive for illegal drugs. In Manhattan, for example, more than 78 percent of the men and 80 percent of the women arrested in 1997 tested positive for at least one illegal drug, according to the National Institute of Justice's ADAM, or Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring, Program. High levels of drug use were found among all types of arrestees—violent, property and drug suspects.

Drugs have a significant impact on youth crime as well. In Washington, DC, nearly 2 out of every 3 male juveniles arrested last year tested positive for illegal drugs. And even though we have seen some encouraging trends in youth crime in the last few years, the levels of youth crime and violence—and the severe nature of youth crime and violence—remain much higher today than they were a generation ago. Many people predict that youth crime will go higher still in the next decade, as the number of young people in the so-called "crime-prone" age groups continues to grow. The bottom line is that we need to be finding solutions today to the problems of youth and school violence. And those solutions must encompass new strategies for drug education, prevention, treatment and enforcement.

But even as crucial as the issues of drugs and crime and youth violence are, I firmly believe that it is the third issue on the table today—police-community race relations—that is of primary importance for everyone in this room, and for government and community leaders across our nation. Race relations between the police and the community is one of those fundamental, bedrock issues that we must work through and "get right," if we are to have any hope for significant and lasting progress on stopping illegal drugs, reducing youth crime and improving public safety. The issue is just that important, and each of you is to be congratulated for having the courage to take it on in a frank and open discussion here today.

I don't have to lecture anyone in this room about the historical significance of race in America. It is an issue that, in many ways, has defined us, divided us, and perplexed us since the very beginning of our nation. The influence of race has been particularly acute in policing—indeed, in the entire criminal justice system. For those of us in this profession, one fact remains inescapable: race does matter. Despite tremendous gains throughout this century in civil rights, voting rights, fair employment and housing, sizable percentages of Americans today—especially Americans of color—still view policing in the US to be discriminatory, if not by policy and definition, certainly in its day-to-day application. And despite tremendous reforms in policing itself—with more women and minorities in our ranks and more attention paid to cultural awareness and sensitivity—race continues to loom large over much of what we do—from everyday traffic stops, to drug enforcement and interdiction efforts, to long-term criminal investigations. And the importance of race relations will only grow in significance, as our society continues to grow and become more diverse.