Title: Supporting the practice of community-oriented policing and encouraging diversity hiring and retention in law enforcement.
Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement

Summary:
Supports community-oriented policing and encourages efforts to increase the hiring and retention of diverse law enforcement officers within law enforcement agencies.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 652 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>






115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 652

Supporting the practice of community-oriented policing and encouraging 
           diversity hiring and retention in law enforcement.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            December 7, 2017

  Ms. Lee (for herself, Ms. Bordallo, Ms. Judy Chu of California, Mr. 
 Clay, Mr. Hastings, Ms. Kaptur, Ms. Moore, Mr. Tonko, and Ms. Norton) 
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 enforcement.

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 enforcement services;
Whereas the Department of Justice's Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) which 
        publishes a census of deaths that occur during the process of arrest or 
        during an attempt to obtain custody by law enforcement, estimates in its 
        preliminary report that from June 2015 to May 2016, there were an 
        estimated 1,900 arrest-related deaths;
Whereas the BJS's preliminary report examining arrest-related deaths found that 
        64 percent of arrest-related deaths were homicides between June and 
        August 2015;
Whereas events in Ferguson, Missouri; Staten Island, New York; North Charleston, 
        South Carolina; Baltimore, Maryland; Charlotte, North Carolina; Baton 
        Rouge, Louisiana; Falcon Heights, Minnesota, and other cities across the 
        country have highlighted the need for strong, collaborative 
        relationships between local police and the communities they serve and 
        protect;
Whereas, on July 7, 2016, President Barack Obama remarked that, ``fatal 
        shootings are not isolated incidents. They are symptomatic of the 
        broader challenges within our criminal justice system, the racial 
        disparities that appear across the system year after year, and the 
        resulting lack of trust that exists between law enforcement and too many 
        of the communities they serve'';
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 establish effective crime prevention strategies while also 
        building public trust between law enforcement and the communities they 
        serve;
Whereas the Task Force recommended that law enforcement agencies engage in 
        proven and successful community-policing 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 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 studies consistently find that community-policing strategies like those 
        supported by the Department's Office of Community Oriented Policing 
        Services (COPS Office) have a positive effect on citizen satisfaction 
        and trust in law enforcement;
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 community-policing plan;
Whereas according to a 2007 survey by the Bureau of Justice Statistics, only 16 
        percent of police departments, employing 48 percent of officers, across 
        the country had a formal written community-policing plan;
Whereas from 2000 to 2007, the percentage of local departments using community 
        policing officers declined from about 66 percent to 47 percent, while 
        the number of community policing officers declined by more than half 
        from 103,000 officers to 47,000 officers;
Whereas Congress recognizes the vital role and practice that community-oriented 
        policing plays in building trust between law enforcement and the 
        communities they serve and protect;
Whereas a study published in The New York Times, found in 2015 that of hundreds 
        of police departments across the United States, the percentage of Whites 
        on the police force is more than thirty percentage points higher than 
        Whites in the communities they serve;
Whereas a 2013 survey conducted by the Bureau of Justice Statistics on law 
        enforcement agencies in the United States found that 27 percent of local 
        police officers are members 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 community's racial and gender makeup it 
        serves and protects is a first step to building trust between 
        communities and law enforcement;
Whereas since its inception, the Community Oriented Policing Services Program 
        (COPS) Office has invested approximately $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 community-oriented policing to law 
        enforcement departments: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) finds that the lack of minority representation 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-oriented 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 enforcement officers;
            (4) urges the Department of Justice to affirm a commitment 
        to fostering trust and stronger relationships between those who 
        serve and the communities they swear to protect;
            (5) 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 excessive and deadly force, and community-
        oriented policing strategies;
            (6) urges the Department of Justice's Office of Community 
        Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office) to consider as a 
        factor when reviewing applications for all grants it manages, 
        whether a law enforcement agency requires its employees to 
        complete cultural sensitivity trainings, including training on 
        ethnic and racial bias, gender bias, sexual orientation and 
        gender identity bias; training on cultural diversity; and 
        training for interactions with people with disabilities, 
        mentally ill, and English Language Learners;
            (7) urges the Department of Justice to incorporate 
        community policing into any law enforcement accreditation 
        recommendations and standards; and
            (8) urges the Bureau of Justice Statistics to provide an 
        annual report to Congress on the Department of Justice's 
        efforts to increase community-oriented policing and diversity 
        hiring and retention within law enforcement departments across 
        the country.
                                 <all>