IV 
114TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. RES. 262 
Supporting the practice of community-oriented policing and encouraging 
diversity hiring and retention in law enforcement. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 14, 2015 
Ms. LEE (for herself, Ms. EDWARDS, Mr. CLAY, and Mr. GRIJALVA) submitted 
the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 
RESOLUTION 
Supporting the practice of community-oriented policing and 
encouraging diversity hiring and retention in law enforce-
ment. 
Whereas promoting trust between law enforcement agencies 
and the communities they serve is critical to the stability 
of our communities, the integrity of our criminal justice 
system, and the safe and effective delivery of law enforce-
ment services; 
Whereas events in Ferguson, Missouri; Staten Island, New 
York; North Charleston, South Carolina; Baltimore, 
Maryland, and other cities across the country have high-
lighted the need for strong, collaborative relationships be-
tween local police and the communities they serve and 
protect; 
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•HRES 262 IH 
Whereas, on December 18, 2014, President Barack Obama 
signed Executive Order 13684 to establish the Task 
Force on 21st Century Policing to examine how to estab-
lish effective crime prevention strategies while also build-
ing public trust between law enforcement and the com-
munities they serve; 
Whereas the Task Force recommended that law enforcement 
agencies engage in proven and successful community-po-
licing tactics, such as combining a focus on intervention 
and prevention through problem solving and collaborative 
partnerships with schools, social services, and other 
stakeholders; 
Whereas the Task Force also recommended law enforcement 
departments should strive to increase the diversity of 
their workforce; 
Whereas the most recent period where statistics are available, 
the Bureau of Justice Statistics found that 4,813 deaths 
occurred during or shortly after law enforcement per-
sonnel attempted to arrest or restrain a suspect, dem-
onstrating the urgency to act on implementing the rec-
ommendations in the report; 
Whereas community-oriented policing is a philosophy that 
promotes the systematic use of partnerships and problem- 
solving techniques to proactively address the immediate 
conditions of public safety, crime, social disorder, and 
fear of crime; 
Whereas a 2007 survey by the Bureau of Justice Statistics 
found a commitment to community policing may be more 
evident in departments with a formal, written commu-
nity-policing plan; 
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•HRES 262 IH 
Whereas according to a 2007 survey by the Bureau of Justice 
Statistics, only 16 percent of police departments, employ-
ing 48 percent of officers, across the country had a for-
mal written community-policing plan; 
Whereas Congress recognizes the vital role and practice that 
community-oriented policing plays in building trust be-
tween law enforcement and the communities they serve 
and protect; 
Whereas a September 2014 study published in The New York 
Times, found that of hundreds of police departments 
across the United States, the percentage of Whites on the 
force is more than thirty percentage points higher than 
in the communities they serve; 
Whereas a 2007 survey conducted by the Bureau of Justice 
Statistics on law enforcement agencies in the United 
States found that only 1 in 4 local police officers was a 
member of a racial or ethnic minority, and that only 1 
in 8 local police officers was a woman; 
Whereas Congress recognizes that hiring and retaining law 
enforcement officers that are more reflective of the com-
munity’s racial and gender makeup it serves and protects 
is critical to building trust between communities and law 
enforcement; 
Whereas since its inception, the Community Oriented Policing 
Services Program (COPS) Office has invested approxi-
mately $14.7 billion to add officers to the Nation’s 
streets, enhance crime fighting technology, support crime 
prevention initiatives, and provide training and technical 
assistance to help advance community policing; and 
Whereas Congress recognizes the critical role of the COPS 
Hiring Program Office in expanding the practice of com-
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•HRES 262 IH 
munity-oriented policing to law enforcement departments: 
Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) finds that the lack of minority representa-
tion in law enforcement across the country needs to 
be addressed; 
(2) calls on law enforcement departments to 
have a written and formal plan of community-ori-
ented policing; 
(3) commits to ensuring that the COPS Hiring 
Program has the support and resources it needs to 
increase the hiring and retention of diverse law en-
forcement officers; 
(4) encourages the Department of Justice, in 
collaboration with the COPS office, to issue further 
guidance and best practices on diversity hiring and 
retention of law enforcement personnel, use of exces-
sive and deadly force, and community-oriented polic-
ing strategies; and 
(5) urges the Bureau of Justice Statistics to 
provide an annual report to Congress on the Depart-
ment of Justice’s efforts to increase community-ori-
ented policing and diversity hiring and retention 
within law enforcement departments across the 
country. 
Æ 
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