Law Enforcement Inclusion Act of 2019

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 4168 To amend the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to provide that COPS grant funds may be used to hire and train new, additional career law enforcement officers who are residents of the com- munities they serve, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES AUGUST 6, 2019 Mr. LEWIS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL To amend the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to provide that COPS grant funds may be used to hire and train new, additional career law enforcement officers who are residents of the commu- nities they serve, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Law Enforcement In- 4 clusion Act of 2019’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6 Congress finds the following: 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:41 Aug 16, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4168.IH H4168 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •HR 4168 IH (1) According to the Equal Employment Oppor- 1 tunity Commission (EEOC) and the Census Bureau, 2 which together provide detail on the racial composi- 3 tion of government workers in large American cities, 4 in about two-thirds of the United States cities with 5 the largest police forces, the majority of police offi- 6 cers live outside of the city in which they work. 7 (2) When officers live in the cities in which they 8 work, it may reduce the carbon footprint by employ- 9 ees in their journey to work, foster more employee 10 concern in the affairs of their city, ensure manpower 11 will be available in case of emergencies, generate ad- 12 ditional tax revenue for the city, and cut down on 13 absenteeism and tardiness. 14 (3) According to a New York Times article en- 15 titled, ‘‘When Police Don’t Live in the City They 16 Serve (2016)’’, trust is greater between community 17 and police force when officers live in and are demo- 18 graphically representative of the communities they 19 police. 20 (4) Existing programs, such as the Secure 21 Neighborhoods Pathways to Homeownership in At- 22 lanta, are strengthening police legitimacy and cre- 23 ating more cooperative relationships with civilians 24 across racial lines which holds promise for reducing 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:41 Aug 16, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4168.IH H4168 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •HR 4168 IH crime and violence. As a result of this program, the 1 percentage of Atlanta’s police force, living in the city 2 of Atlanta, increased from 14 percent to 22 percent. 3 (5) Strained ties between police departments 4 and the communities they serve predate the 1960s 5 civil rights movement. During and after the civil 6 rights movement, activists across the country have 7 marched in support of improved police-community 8 relations. 9 (6) Police officers have an important job to 10 maintain the safety, security, and resiliency of the 11 cities they serve. By residing in the same commu- 12 nities in which they serve, officers may have oppor- 13 tunities to ameliorate their relationships with com- 14 munity residents and heal relationships between po- 15 lice and communities. 16 (7) Substantive criminal justice reform should 17 include initiatives to ameliorate the relationships po- 18 lice officers have with the communities they serve. 19 SEC. 3. USE OF COPS GRANT FUNDS TO HIRE LAW EN- 20 FORCEMENT OFFICERS WHO ARE RESIDENTS 21 OF THE COMMUNITIES THEY SERVE. 22 Section 1701(b) of the Omnibus Crime Control and 23 Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10381(b)) is amend- 24 ed— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:41 Aug 16, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4168.IH H4168 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •HR 4168 IH (1) by redesignating paragraphs (22) and (23) 1 as paragraphs (25) and (26), respectively; 2 (2) in paragraph (25), as so redesignated, by 3 striking ‘‘(21)’’ and inserting ‘‘(24)’’; and 4 (3) by inserting after paragraph (21) the fol- 5 lowing: 6 ‘‘(22) to recruit, hire, incentivize, retain, de- 7 velop, and train new, additional career law enforce- 8 ment officers or current law enforcement officers 9 who are willing to relocate to communities— 10 ‘‘(A) where there are poor or fragmented 11 relationships between police and residents of the 12 community, or where there are high incidents of 13 crime; and 14 ‘‘(B) that are the communities that the law 15 enforcement officers serve, or that are in close 16 proximity to the communities that the law en- 17 forcement officers serve; 18 ‘‘(23) to collect data on the number of law en- 19 forcement officers who are willing to relocate to the 20 communities where they serve, and whether such law 21 enforcement officer relocations have impacted crime 22 in such communities; 23 ‘‘(24) to develop and publicly report strategies 24 and timelines to recruit, hire, promote, retain, de- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:41 Aug 16, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4168.IH H4168 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •HR 4168 IH velop, and train a diverse and inclusive law enforce- 1 ment workforce, consistent with merit system prin- 2 ciples and applicable law;’’. 3 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:41 Aug 16, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H4168.IH H4168 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS