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Justice Department appoints Colonel Clements as new director of community policing office


Colonel Hugh T. Clements speaks with NBC 10 about his appointment as new director of community policing office for the U.S. Justice Department, Thursday, Jan. 19, 2023.{ }
Colonel Hugh T. Clements speaks with NBC 10 about his appointment as new director of community policing office for the U.S. Justice Department, Thursday, Jan. 19, 2023.
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The Department of Justice announced it will appoint Colonel Hugh Clements Jr. as the new director of a community policing office.

Attorney General Merrick Garland announced Clements will lead the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, which seeks to advance best practices for community policing nationwide.

“The Department’s COPS Office is central to our efforts to strengthen the public trust between communities and law enforcement that is essential to public safety, and I am pleased to announce that Chief Hugh Clements, a nearly 40-year veteran of the Providence Police Department, will be serving as its next Director,” Attorney General Garland said in a statement.

NBC 10 spoke with Clements about the role on Thursday night.

"We're overseeing an office that provides service, technical service, monetary service, guidance on enforcement, engagement with all the hot topic issues in policing that we know very well here in Providence and again, we've done a lot of those innovative, progressive programs," he said.

For more than a decade Clements has led the Providence Police Department, a department he served in for nearly 40 years.

Clements recently said it was a tough decision not to return, but he could not pass up this opportunity.

"I love the Providence Police Department, I will miss Providence and the department more than it misses me," Clements said Thursday night.

Clements has said he will stay with the Providence Police Department during the selection and transition process of a new chief of police.


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