Washington, D.C. August 14, 2025— The United Coalition of Public Safety (UCOPS) applauds the decision to end the Department of Justice’s years-long federal oversight of the Suffolk County Police Department — a move that allows Suffolk County police officers to focus on protecting the residents of Suffolk County.
UCOPS thanks Attorney General Pam Bondi, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, and Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon for listening to our concerns and working to change a model of federal involvement that has drained local resources while delivering little benefit to public safety.
“Federal oversight has too often been more about politics than public safety. For years, Suffolk County taxpayers were forced to foot the bill for so-called ‘reforms’ that made it harder for police to do their jobs and, in many cases, made our communities less safe. Let’s call it what it was — an expensive, politically driven mandate that did nothing to protect our residents, but everything to satisfy an agenda in Washington. Today’s decision finally returns control of the Suffolk County Police Department to the people who know and care about it most — the residents.” - Lou Civello, President, Suffolk County PBA and Vice-President of UCOPS.
For years, UCOPS has stood at the forefront of the conversation on reforming and ending Federal Consent Decrees and unnecessary federal oversight agreements like Suffolk County’s. Too often, these arrangements have been driven by political motives rather than a genuine concern for public safety, imposing costly mandates that advance agendas in Washington while undermining the ability of local officers to do their jobs. Today’s decision represents a critical shift away from this outdated, politically motivated model and toward empowering local leadership to make decisions based on the real needs of their communities.
“UCOPS will continue to lead the national dialogue on fixing Federal Consent Decrees,” said UCOPS President Mike Solan. “We look forward to working with the DOJ to end politically driven mandates and put public safety first.”
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