Jul 27 2023
PASSED: Senate Unanimously Passes Fischer Legislation to Boost Law Enforcement Hiring and Retention
The Senate unanimously passed U.S. Senator Deb Fischer’s (R-Neb.) bipartisan Recruit and Retain Act on Wednesday, which will support law enforcement agencies grappling with recruitment issues. U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.) co-led the introduction of the legislation. The bill now heads to the U.S. House of Representatives.
“Police departments nationwide are struggling with a staffing crisis that threatens community safety. It’s why I introduced the Recruit and Retain Act, which will allow law enforcement to use federal resources to reduce hiring costs and create local career pipelines. I want to thank my colleagues for their unanimous, bipartisan support of my bill, and I look forward to getting the legislation passed in the House of Representatives,” said Senator Fischer.
“As co-chair of the Senate Law Enforcement Caucus, I know the critical role that our law enforcement officers have on the front lines of our communities in Delaware and across our nation. The Recruit and Retain Act would provide staffing assistance to these agencies and help build trust between law enforcement and the communities they serve. I’m glad my Senate colleagues unanimously passed my bipartisan legislation to ensure our police departments recruit qualified officers who reflect our communities,” said Senator Coons.
Background
The Recruit and Retain Act would primarily boost the U.S. Department of Justice’s Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) grants to make them more responsive to onboarding costs and hiring challenges. This would help law enforcement agencies across the country hire new officers more easily, as many continue to face staffing shortages and struggle to attract new applicants. This includes the creation of a new program to encourage voluntary partnerships between schools and police departments to foster a stronger local pipeline for law enforcement careers.
The Recruit and Retain Act has received national endorsements from the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association, Fraternal Order of Police, Major Cities Chiefs Association, Major County Sheriffs of America, National Association of Police Organizations, National Sheriffs Association, R Street Institute, and the Peace Officers Research Association of California.
The legislation also has received state support from the Nebraska Sheriffs Association, Police Chiefs Association of Nebraska, Kearney Police Department, Omaha Police Department, and Scottsbluff Police Department.
Click here to read more about stakeholder support.
Click here to read the text of the bill.
The bill contains five key initiatives:
Supporting Officer Onboarding
- Makes the U.S. Department of Justice’s COPS grants more flexible to reduce to reduce the financial costs of hiring new law enforcement officers (ex: background checks, psychological evaluations, etc.).
Reducing Administrative Burdens
- Allows up to 2% of grant funding to alleviate the administrative costs of implementing COPS grants. Many law enforcement agencies have noted this would offset the paperwork burden associated with COPS grants.
Authorizing New Pipeline Recruitment Program
- Authorizes the Pipeline Partnership Program within COPS to encourage collaboration between agencies and local elementary schools, secondary schools, and institutions of higher education for students interested in future careers in law enforcement. Qualifying partnership activities would include: dedicated programming for students, work-based learning opportunities, project-based learning, mentoring, community liaisons, career or jobs fairs, work site visits, job shadowing, and skills-based internships.
Providing Better Grant Guidance for Understaffed Agencies
- Creates new guidance for COPS hiring grants to clarify the lack of consistent application procedures for understaffed agencies. This will ensure more eligible police departments are able to access COPS grants.
Shining a Light on Recruitment and Retention Challenges
- Directs a comprehensive study to illuminate the latest recruitment and retention challenges law enforcement agencies face nationwide, and document how these trends are impacting public safety.
