Police Accountability and Community Engagement Act of 2020

To authorize the Attorney General to make grants to improve the relationship between the police and the communities they serve, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Police Accountability and Community Engagement Act of 2020 PAC Act 2. Police-Community Relations Grant Program (a) Authorization The Attorney General, acting through the Director of the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, is authorized to make grants to nonprofit organizations, institutions of higher education, community groups, and faith-based organizations to facilitate organized dialogues that bring together community members and law enforcement officers in order to build trust, increase accountability, and reduce tension in relationships between the community and the police. (b) Uses of funds A recipient of a grant under this section shall use such funds for the following: (1) Community dialogues, led by a third-party facilitator, that bring together a diverse group of community members, local elected officials, law enforcement leaders and officers, business leaders, and community members to assess the state of police and community relations in the area, which focus on taking a proactive approach and developing concrete action items that will help improve the relationship between the police and the community and further the goal of collective safety. (2) Community dialogues that are specifically designed to bring together teenagers with law enforcement officers, which aim to help police and young people honestly discuss their interaction and find common ground, which— (A) are led by a third-party facilitator and held in a neutral space outside of a police station; (B) provide equal participation for local law enforcement officers and youth; (C) include law enforcement officers with a variety of levels of experience; (D) meet at minimum on a monthly basis to engage in these group dialogues; (E) include participants who reflect the demographics of the young people in the community; (F) use facilitators with the appropriate language skills, if the local population includes young people for whom English is not their primary language; and (G) include the development of actionable next steps in order to ensure accountability and a formal action plan. (3) Documenting results of the dialogues described in paragraphs (1) and (2), including any practice that changes as a result of the dialogue. (c) Application An entity seeking a grant under this section shall submit to the Attorney General an application at such time, in such manner, and containing such information as the Attorney General may reasonably require, except that no application shall be considered unless plans for community dialogue include, but not be limited to, a discussion concerning racism and its effects on police-community relations. (d) Report A recipient of a grant under this section shall submit to the Attorney General on a biannual basis the results of the dialogues conducted pursuant to a grant under this section, including any changes that were made to policing practices, the reason for the changes, and the results of the changes. (e) Authorization of appropriations There is authorized to be appropriated $10,000,000 to carry out this section.

Summary: Police Accountability and Community Engagement Act of 2020 or the PAC Act This bill authorizes the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services within the Department of Justice to make grants that facilitate organized dialogues to build trust, increase accountability, and reduce tension between the community and the police.