Recruit and Retain Act

To amend the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to authorize law enforcement agencies to use COPS grants for recruitment activities, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Recruit and Retain Act 2. Improving COPS grants for police hiring purposes (a) Grant use expansion Section 1701(b) of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 ( 34 U.S.C. 10381(b) (1) by redesignating paragraphs (5) through (23) as paragraphs (6) through (24), respectively; and (2) by inserting after paragraph (4) the following: (5) to support hiring activities by law enforcement agencies experiencing declines in officer recruitment applications by reducing application-related fees, such as fees for background checks, psychological evaluations, and testing . ; . (b) Technical amendment Section 1701(b)(23) of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 ( 34 U.S.C. 10381(b)(23) (21) (22) 3. Administrative costs Section 1701 of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 ( 34 U.S.C. 10381 (1) by redesignating subsections (i) through (n) as subsections (j) through (o), respectively; and (2) by inserting after subsection (h) the following: (i) Administrative costs Not more than 2 percent of a grant made for the hiring or rehiring of additional career law enforcement officers may be used for costs incurred to administer such grant. . 4. Pipeline Partnership Program Section 1701 of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 ( 34 U.S.C. 10381 (p) COPS Pipeline Partnership Program (1) Eligible entity defined In this subsection, the term eligible entity (A) An elementary school. (B) A secondary school. (C) An institution of higher education. (D) A Hispanic-serving institution. (E) A historically Black college or university. (F) A Tribal college. (2) Grants The Attorney General shall award competitive grants to eligible entities for recruiting activities that— (A) support substantial student engagement for the exploration of potential future career opportunities in law enforcement; (B) strengthen recruitment by law enforcement agencies experiencing a decline in recruits, or high rates of resignations or retirements; (C) enhance community interactions between local youth and law enforcement agencies that are designed to increase recruiting; and (D) otherwise improve the outcomes of local law enforcement recruitment through activities such as dedicated programming for students, work-based learning opportunities, project-based learning, mentoring, community liaisons, career or job fairs, work site visits, job shadowing, apprenticeships, or skills-based internships. (3) Funding Of the amounts made available to carry out this part for a fiscal year, the Attorney General may use not more than $3,000,000 to carry out this subsection. . 5. COPS Grant guidance for agencies operating below budgeted strength Section 1704 of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 ( 34 U.S.C. 10384 (d) Guidance for understaffed law enforcement agencies (1) Definitions In this subsection: (A) Covered applicant The term covered applicant (B) Budgeted strength The term budgeted strength (2) Procedures Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Attorney General shall establish consistent procedures for covered applicants, including guidance that— (A) clarifies that covered applicants remain eligible for funding under this part; and (B) enables covered applicants to attest that the funding from a grant awarded under this part is not being used by the law enforcement agency to supplant State or local funds, as described in subsection (a). (3) Paperwork reduction In developing the procedures and guidance under paragraph (2), the Attorney General shall take measures to reduce paperwork requirements for grants to covered applicants. . 6. Study on Police Recruitment (a) Study (1) In general The Comptroller General of the United States shall conduct a study to consider the comprehensive effects of recruitment and attrition rates on Federal, State, Tribal, and local law enforcement agencies in the United States, to identify— (A) the primary reasons that law enforcement officers— (i) join law enforcement agencies; and (ii) resign or retire from law enforcement agencies; (B) how the reasons described in subparagraph (A) may have changed over time; (C) the effects of recruitment and attrition on public safety; (D) the effects of electronic media on recruitment efforts; (E) barriers to the recruitment and retention of Federal, State, and local law enforcement officers; and (F) recommendations for potential ways to address barriers to the recruitment and retention of law enforcement officers, including the barriers identified in subparagraph (E). (2) Representative cross-section (A) In general The Comptroller General of the United States shall endeavor to ensure accurate representation of law enforcement agencies in the study conducted pursuant to paragraph (1) by surveying a broad cross-section of law enforcement agencies— (i) from various regions of the United States; (ii) of different sizes; and (iii) from rural, suburban, and urban jurisdictions. (B) Methods description The study conducted pursuant to paragraph (1) shall include in the report under subsection (b) a description of the methods used to identify a representative sample of law enforcement agencies. (b) Report Not later than 540 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States shall— (1) submit to the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate and the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives a report containing the study conducted under subsection (a); and (2) make the report submitted under paragraph (1) publicly available online. (c) Confidentiality The Comptroller General of the United States shall ensure that the study conducted under subsection (a) protects the privacy of participating law enforcement agencies. June 8, 2023 Reported with an amendment

Summary: Recruit and Retain Act This bill expands the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) grant program to support recruitment efforts by law enforcement agencies. Specifically, the bill expands the COPS program by allowing funds to be used for reducing application-related fees (e.g., fees for background checks, psychological evaluations, and testing); and directing the Department of Justice (DOJ) to award competitive grants to partnerships between law enforcement agencies and educational institutions (e.g., elementary and secondary schools and institutions of higher education) for recruiting activities, such as for career and job fairs. The bill requires DOJ to establish guidance for understaffed law enforcement agencies applying for COPS grants. The Government Accountability Office must study and report on the effects of recruitment and attrition rates on federal, state, tribal, and local law enforcement agencies.