The Community Relations Service (CRS), a historically significant office within the U.S. Department of Justice, is being considered for closure by the Trump administration. This potential action has sparked widespread concern due to the crucial role the CRS has played in mitigating and preventing civil unrest in major cities across the nation. Born out of the civil rights movement of the 1960s, the office’s closure could signify a significant loss of decades’ worth of work dedicated to promoting peace, stability, and harmony amongst the country’s diverse population.
An internal memo from the Justice Department that CBS News reviewed revealed that Trump’s appointees are contemplating the closure of the CRS. The CRS was established in line with the Civil Rights Act of 1964, with a guiding mission to serve as “America’s peacemaker.” Its primary role involves the prevention and resolution of racial and ethnic tensions, conflicts, and civil disorders, as well as restoring racial stability and harmony.
The CRS, unlike typical law enforcement agencies, does not investigate or prosecute crimes, nor does it possess any law enforcement authority. According to the Justice Department, the services rendered by the CRS are confidential and free of charge for communities that either accept or request them. In 2021, the agency stated that its mission was to help materialize Martin Luther King Jr.’s “inspiring dream of a vibrant, all-embracing nation unified in justice, peace, and reconciliation.”
Historically, the CRS has intervened during periods of heightened national unrest. For instance, it received credit for helping prevent another riot in 1993, when racial tensions re-emerged following the second trial of police involved in the beating of Rodney King in California. The office also played a key role in easing rising racial tensions following the 1997 fatal police shooting of a Chinese-American man in Rohnert Park, California, after the 2022 shooting of a Black man by the police in Akron, Ohio, and during the trial of Derek Chauvin after the killing of George Floyd in 2020 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
The potential closure of the CRS has caused alarm among its former leaders, who fear that such an action could trigger a surge in disputes between police departments or city leaders and minority communities nationwide. Ron Wakabayashi, a former regional director of the CRS, shared his concerns with CBS News, stating, “We would find and stop brush fires before they became forest fires.” He expressed fears that without the agency’s CRS, which has been deployed regionally across the nation, the country would be at a greater risk of unrest, boycotts, and lawsuits.
Despite its low-profile approach, the CRS has remained less well known among federal government leaders. However, according to some who have led the office, it has been a crucial asset for the Justice Department. The employees of the CRS have discreetly intervened with church leaders, community leaders, relatives of victims of violence, and city administrators to prevent unrest, lawsuits, or boycotts.
The concept of the CRS was conceived by President John F. Kennedy in the early 1960s. He believed that the federal government should have experts who could “identify tensions before they reach the crisis stage” and “work quietly to ease tensions and improve relations in any community threatened or torn with strife.”
The office’s jurisdiction expanded to include gender, sex, religion, and other protected classes of people following the passage of hate crimes legislation in the wake of the killings of Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. in the late 1990s, as stated by Wakabayashi. He explained that the experienced employees of the CRS would foster relationships over years with leaders of houses of worship, police departments, and activists in major cities. This would earn them credibility and better equip them to mediate disputes.
At one point, according to Wakabayasi, the office employed 600 professional staff, including mediators and community outreach experts, in regional offices in Philadelphia, Dallas, Seattle, Detroit, Los Angeles, Atlanta, and Boston. The Justice Department memo reviewed by CBS News indicates some of the current CRS staff would be reassigned to federal prosecutors’ offices nationwide. Former staffers express that such reorganization could cripple the federal government’s ability to prevent racial strife in U.S. cities because community activists might be less willing to work with so-called peacemakers who may be perceived to be aligned with prosecutors’ offices.
Bert Brandenberg, a 30-year veteran of the CRS, and former Justice Department officials questioned plans to close the office: “During eras of soaring racial tension – wouldn’t it make sense to have people in communities while they arise… so they don’t lead to boycotts, litigation or unrest?” He further emphasized that “Violence prevention works best when communities see conciliators as honest brokers they can open up with as part of working through conflicts, which is distinct from the critical work of prosecutors holding wrongdoers accountable.” The Justice Department did not respond to a request for comment.
In a speech in July 2024, Justin Lock, a former director of the CRS, praised the office’s accomplishments, stating that the office had been “at the intersection of some of the most critical moments in our nation’s journey toward justice.” He cited the events of 2020, when Americans marched in solidarity with the people of Brunswick, Georgia; Louisville, Kentucky; and Minneapolis, Minnesota, following the deaths of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and George Floyd. CRS played a pivotal role as an impartial, confidential facilitator, helping stakeholders identify and implement solutions that help communities heal and move forward.
Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi, an Illinois Democrat, lauded the work of the CRS in defusing tensions between minority communities and the government. He expressed concern about reports that the office could be cut, stating, “At a time when hate crimes and community tensions are on the rise, reducing support for this essential office would be a grave mistake. I urge the DOJ to reaffirm its commitment to building trust and bringing greater safety to all our communities.”
In conclusion, the potential closure of the CRS is a matter of grave concern, given the critical role it has played in maintaining peace and harmony in American communities. The office has been instrumental in preventing and resolving racial and ethnic tensions and conflicts, and its closure could pose a significant threat to the peace and stability of the nation. It is hoped that the Trump administration will reconsider its decision and continue to support the essential work of this crucial office.
