For National Police Week this year, the Problem Solvers Caucus endorsed the Invest to Protect Act of 2022 and the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS), which pledge to increase federal investment into recruitment and retention efforts at police departments nationwide.
COPS is a part of the Beat Grant Program Reauthorization and Parity Act of 2022, and as part of it, would reauthorize and update the program to guarantee all law enforcement agencies, no matter where they are located, the size of the department or regional income level, could benefit. Meanwhile, the Invest to Protect Act would create new targeted investment for smaller departments to gain equipment, support and training, as well as granting them access to meaningful investments in their officers and communities.
“Every day, our brave law enforcement wake up, put on a bulletproof vest, kiss their spouses and children goodbye, and put their lives on the line to look out for us,” Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ), Problem Solvers co-chair and lead House sponsor of the Invest to Protect Act, said. “That’s why we must always get the backs of our first responders and all those who serve our nation. With my bipartisan, bicameral legislation, we will make critical investments in our law enforcement, in training and tools, in recruiting and retaining the best talent, and in ensuring they have the resources they need to keep themselves and our communities safe.”
As part of the Invest to Protect Act, these small, local police departments – the majority of which have 200 or fewer officers – would be able to gain federal investments for training, offsetting overtime pay, increased access to body cameras, grants for recruitment and retention bonuses, and mental health resources.
COPS, first authorized in 1994, has been officially expired since 2009, but has continued to receive appropriations annually. Reauthorization would settle this issue for the next decade, allow grants to be used to increase wages for officers in low-income communities, lower the initial non-federal match minimum for these grants and gradually increase them over four years, remove preferential treatment for matching, codify an official COPS office within the Department of Justice and more.
“Police officers keep all kinds of communities safe, but those in rural and low-income communities often face barriers to doing their jobs effectively and efficiently,” U.S. Rep. Tom Rice (R-SC), lead House sponsor of the COPS effort, said. “By endorsing the COPS on the Beat Grant Program Reauthorization and Parity Act, the Problem Solvers Caucus is taking action by improving law enforcement relations, budgets, and trainings.”
Both pieces of legislation have also been backed by law enforcement organizations such as the Fraternal Order of Police, the National Sheriffs Association, and the National Association of Police Organizations.