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 communities 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 communities they serve, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Law Enforcement In5 clusion Act of 2019’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) According to the Equal Employment Oppor2 tunity Commission (EEOC) and the Census Bureau, 

3 which together provide detail on the racial composi4 tion of government workers in large American cities, 

5 in about two-thirds of the United States cities with 

6 the largest police forces, the majority of police offi7 cers live outside of the city in which they work. 

8 (2) When officers live in the cities in which they 

9 work, it may reduce the carbon footprint by employ10 ees in their journey to work, foster more employee 

11 concern in the affairs of their city, ensure manpower 

12 will be available in case of emergencies, generate ad13 ditional tax revenue for the city, and cut down on 

14 absenteeism and tardiness. 

15 (3) According to a New York Times article en16 titled, ‘‘When Police Don’t Live in the City They 

17 Serve (2016)’’, trust is greater between community 

18 and police force when officers live in and are demo19 graphically representative of the communities they 

20 police. 

21 (4) Existing programs, such as the Secure 

22 Neighborhoods Pathways to Homeownership in At23 lanta, are strengthening police legitimacy and cre24 ating more cooperative relationships with civilians 

25 across racial lines which holds promise for reducing 


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1 crime and violence. As a result of this program, the 

2 percentage of Atlanta’s police force, living in the city 

3 of Atlanta, increased from 14 percent to 22 percent. 

4 (5) Strained ties between police departments 

5 and the communities they serve predate the 1960s 

6 civil rights movement. During and after the civil 

7 rights movement, activists across the country have 

8 marched in support of improved police-community 

9 relations. 

10 (6) Police officers have an important job to 

11 maintain the safety, security, and resiliency of the 

12 cities they serve. By residing in the same commu13 nities in which they serve, officers may have oppor14 tunities to ameliorate their relationships with com15 munity residents and heal relationships between po16 lice and communities. 

17 (7) Substantive criminal justice reform should 

18 include initiatives to ameliorate the relationships po19 lice officers have with the communities they serve. 

20 SEC. 3. USE OF COPS GRANT FUNDS TO HIRE LAW EN21 FORCEMENT OFFICERS WHO ARE RESIDENTS 

22 OF THE COMMUNITIES THEY SERVE. 

23 Section 1701(b) of the Omnibus Crime Control and 

24 Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10381(b)) is amend25 ed— 


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1 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (22) and (23) 

2 as paragraphs (25) and (26), respectively; 

3 (2) in paragraph (25), as so redesignated, by 

4 striking ‘‘(21)’’ and inserting ‘‘(24)’’; and 

5 (3) by inserting after paragraph (21) the fol6 lowing: 

7 ‘‘(22) to recruit, hire, incentivize, retain, de8 velop, and train new, additional career law enforce9 ment officers or current law enforcement officers 

10 who are willing to relocate to communities— 

11 ‘‘(A) where there are poor or fragmented 

12 relationships between police and residents of the 

13 community, or where there are high incidents of 

14 crime; and 

15 ‘‘(B) that are the communities that the law 

16 enforcement officers serve, or that are in close 

17 proximity to the communities that the law en18 forcement officers serve; 

19 ‘‘(23) to collect data on the number of law en20 forcement officers who are willing to relocate to the 

21 communities where they serve, and whether such law 

22 enforcement officer relocations have impacted crime 

23 in such communities; 

24 ‘‘(24) to develop and publicly report strategies 

25 and timelines to recruit, hire, promote, retain, deVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:41 Aug 16, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4168.IH H4168

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1 velop, and train a diverse and inclusive law enforce2 ment workforce, consistent with merit system prin3 ciples and applicable law;’’. 

Æ 


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