U.S. Rep. Pat Harrigan (R-NC) introduced legislation that would target drug cartels and organized crime through the expanded use of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) grants.
The legislation, the COPS Anti-Organized Crime and Cartel Enforcement Act, would support state, local and tribal law enforcement’s efforts to target organized crime, cartels, and transnational criminal organizations operating inside the U.S. The bill would allow COPS grant funds to be used to create specialized anti-organized crime units within local law enforcement agencies.
“Drug cartels and transnational criminal organizations are operating on American soil with near impunity, and our local law enforcement agencies need the resources to fight back. This bill gives police departments access to federal COPS grant funding specifically to create specialized units that can take on organized crime, with the training, equipment, and personnel they need to dismantle these operations. We’re talking about the same criminal organizations flooding our streets with fentanyl and fueling violence in our communities, and if we’re serious about securing our communities, we need to give our police the tools to do it,” Harrigan said.
The bill authorizes the use of $50 million from fiscal years 2026 through 2030 to support the legislative efforts. According to the legislation, COPS grants could be used to hire additional officers, train personnel in intelligence-gathering and in countering organized crime tactics, and to acquire necessary equipment to aid in investigations and seizures, including protective gear, tactical vehicles and approved unmanned aerial systems. The bill would also prioritize funding for jurisdictions facing high levels of cartel, gang and transnational criminal activity.