III 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 218 

Expressing support for the law enforcement officers of the United States. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 18, 2023 

Mr. VANCE (for himself and Mr. CASSIDY) submitted the following resolution; 

which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

RESOLUTION 

Expressing support for the law enforcement officers of the 

United States. 

Whereas more than 800,000 law enforcement officers in the 

United States risk their lives daily to serve and protect 

their communities; 

Whereas there are more than 23,000 fallen law enforcement 

officers honored on the walls of the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial, dating back to 1786, when 

the first law enforcement officer in the United States 

died in the line of duty; 

Whereas, during the 2 years preceding the date of adoption 

of this resolution, more than 800 law enforcement officers died in the United States in the line of duty, the 

highest number of such deaths over a 2-year period in 

the history of the United States; 


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•SRES 218 IS 

Whereas some politicians and interest groups have responded 

to the risks faced by law enforcement officers with calls 

to ‘‘defund’’ or even ‘‘abolish’’ law enforcement agencies 

across the United States; 

Whereas defunding law enforcement agencies or otherwise demoralizing law enforcement officers will make it more difficult for officers to intervene in dangerous situations and 

high-risk neighborhoods; 

Whereas a law enforcement officer will typically encounter between 400 and 600 traumatic events during the career of 

the officer, compared with 3 or 4 traumatic events encountered by the average citizen; 

Whereas the unusually high number of traumatic events experienced by law enforcement officers has contributed to 

a 54 percent higher suicide rate among officers than 

among individuals in other jobs; 

Whereas the Bureau of Justice Statistics of the Department 

of Justice has confirmed that there is no statistically significant difference between the rates at which major racial and ethnic groups are stopped in police-initiated 

interactions; 

Whereas the innovative and dedicated efforts of law enforcement officers have successfully brought down crime rates 

from historic highs; 

Whereas the ‘‘defund and defame the police’’ movement that 

began in 2020 has— 

(1) coincided with a dramatic rise in homicides and 

other violent crimes in cities and towns across the United 

States; and 

(2) caused the retention and recruitment of sworn 

law enforcement officers to drop to a dangerously low 


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•SRES 218 IS 

level, with current numbers showing fewer law enforcement officers per resident than at any other time during 

the 25-year period preceding the date of adoption of this 

resolution; 

Whereas, in 2020— 

(1) 60,105 law enforcement officers were assaulted 

by criminals, resulting in 18,633 injuries; and 

(2) the number of arrests made by law enforcement 

officers throughout the United States dropped to 

7,630,000, a 24 percent reduction from 2019 and the 

fewest number of such arrests in 25 years; 

Whereas 72 percent of law enforcement officers surveyed are 

less willing to stop and question suspicious individuals 

than they were before 2020; 

Whereas the rhetoric associated with the ‘‘defund and defame 

the police’’ movement has created an increasingly dangerous environment for law enforcement officers in which, 

in 2022 alone, 331 officers were shot, 62 of whom were 

shot fatally; and 

Whereas supporting law enforcement officers with the equipment, training, and funding needed to protect communities in the United States from criminal violence has 

long received overwhelming public support from across 

the political spectrum: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) highly respects and values the law enforce3 ment officers of the United States and greatly ap4 preciates all that those officers do to protect and 

5 serve their communities; 


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•SRES 218 IS 

1 (2) remembers and honors law enforcement offi2 cers who have experienced a death or injury in the 

3 line of duty and the families of those officers; 

4 (3) calls for increased measures to be taken to 

5 maximize the safety and well-being of law enforce6 ment officers, including improvements relating to the 

7 retention and recruitment of officers, improved 

8 training and equipment for officers, tougher pen9 alties for assaulting or killing an officer, and in10 creased mental health resources for officers; 

11 (4) strongly condemns the misguided and disas12 trous movement to ‘‘defund and defame the police’’; 

13 and 

14 (5) calls on all levels of government to ensure 

15 that law enforcement officers receive the support 

16 and resources needed to keep all communities in the 

17 United States safe. 

Æ 


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