Title: VA Police Improvement and Accountability Act
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security

Summary:
VA Police Improvement and Accountability Act
This bill updates the staffing and responsibilities of police forces of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).
Specifically, the bill requires the VA to ensure that each of its police forces designates an employee to serve as a point of contact for its employees and the public regarding (1) statistical information (e.g., the use of force and weapons discharge), (2) complaints and investigations regarding officers at the facility, and (3) the provision of information to a person regarding personal arrest or other police matters.
The bill also requires the VA to provide information on the public websites of police facilities regarding specified statistical information and directions on how to contact the point of contact or receive information about specific matters.
The VA must provide annual training on (1) recognizing, defining, understanding, and avoiding racial profiling and implicit bias and best practices regarding the duty to intervene; and (2) preventing suicide among the population served by police officers.
Finally, the bill requires VA police officers to wear body cameras that have a field of view at least as broad as the officers' vision and capture footage of the officers' activities. The audio and video of the camera must be activated whenever an officer is responding to a call for service or other stop, except in situations where it is impossible or dangerous for the officer to do so. The VA's guidance on body cameras must be made publicly available.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7784 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>






116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 7784

    To amend title 38, United States Code, to improve the staffing, 
 transparency, and accountability of the law enforcement operations of 
      the Department of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 24, 2020

   Miss Rice of New York (for herself and Mr. Pappas) introduced the 
   following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans' 
                                Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To amend title 38, United States Code, to improve the staffing, 
 transparency, and accountability of the law enforcement operations of 
      the Department of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``VA Police Improvement and 
Accountability Act''.

SEC. 2. IMPROVEMENTS TO TRANSPARENCY OF LAW ENFORCEMENT OPERATIONS OF 
              DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS.

    (a) Contact and Information.--Section 902 of title 38, United 
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new 
subsection:
    ``(e)(1) The Secretary shall ensure that each police force of a 
facility of the Department designates an employee of the Department to 
serve as a point of contact for other employees and for the public with 
respect to, at a minimum--
            ``(A) statistical information regarding--
                    ``(i) arrests made by and tickets issued by 
                Department police officers at such facility;
                    ``(ii) prosecutions, ticketing, and other actions 
                relating to such arrests; and
                    ``(iii) the use of force and weapons discharge;
            ``(B) complaints and investigations regarding Department 
        police officers at such facility; and
            ``(C) providing information to an individual (or the 
        representative, attorney, or authorized agent of the 
        individual) regarding the arrest, ticketing, detainment, use of 
        force, or other police matters pertaining to that individual, 
        including any relevant court proceedings or other legal 
        actions.
    ``(2) The Secretary shall make available on the public internet 
website of each facility covered by paragraph (1) the following 
information:
            ``(A) The statistical information under subparagraph (A) of 
        such paragraph.
            ``(B) How to contact the point of contact.
            ``(C) General information regarding how an individual (or 
        the representative, attorney, or authorized agent of the 
        individual) may receive information regarding the arrest, 
        ticketing, detainment, use of force, or other police matters 
        pertaining to that individual by Department police officers at 
        such facility (or by other Federal, State, or local law 
        enforcement officers at the request of Department police 
        officers), including with respect to any subsequent court 
        proceedings.''.
    (b) Improved Training.--
            (1) Training.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall 
        provide to Department police officers annual training on--
                    (A) recognizing, defining, understanding, and 
                avoiding racial profiling and implicit bias and best 
                practices regarding the duty to intervene; and
                    (B) preventing suicide among the population served 
                by the police officers.
            (2) Curriculum.--In carrying out paragraph (1), the 
        Secretary shall improve any similar training provided before 
        the date of the enactment of this Act, including by ensuring 
        that the curriculum for the training addresses, at a minimum, 
        the following:
                    (A) Effective behavioral science procedures for 
                suicide prevention and risk mitigation.
                    (B) Crisis intervention and de-escalation skills, 
                including through the use of interactive training.
                    (C) Information about mental health and substance 
                abuse disorders.
                    (D) Information about local law enforcement crisis 
                intervention teams and other resources for veterans 
                experiencing mental health crises available by the 
                Department of Veterans Affairs, other elements of the 
                Federal Government, and the community in which the 
                police officers serve.
            (3) Consultation.--The Secretary shall ensure that the 
        annual training provided under paragraph (1) to Department 
        police officers at a medical facility of the Department is 
        provided in consultation with law enforcement accreditation 
        organizations and the mental health experts at such facility.
            (4) Plan on community partnerships.--The Secretary shall 
        ensure that each police force of a facility of the Department 
        develops a plan to enter into partnerships with--
                    (A) local community mental health organizations and 
                experts, local community veterans organizations, and 
                local community criminal justice organizations and 
                experts; and
                    (B) local police departments, including by 
                facilitating the sharing of training resources with 
                crisis intervention teams of the local police 
                departments.
            (5) Report.--Not later than one year after the date of the 
        enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to the 
        Committees on Veterans' Affairs of the House of Representatives 
        and the Senate a report on the improved training under 
        paragraph (1), including--
                    (A) a description of the curriculum of such 
                training;
                    (B) with respect to the year preceding the date of 
                the report--
                            (i) the number of facilities of the 
                        Department that conducted such training;
                            (ii) the number of Department police 
                        officers who received such training; and
                            (iii) any barriers to ensuring that each 
                        Department police officer receives such 
                        training;
                    (C) any recommendations to address the barriers 
                identified under subparagraph (B)(iii); and
                    (D) the number of facilities of the Department that 
                have established partnerships under paragraph (3).
    (c) Use of Body Cameras by Department Police Officers.--
            (1) Requirement.--
                    (A) In general.--Department police officers shall 
                wear a body camera that--
                            (i) has a field of view at least as broad 
                        as the officer's vision; and
                            (ii) is worn in a manner that maximizes the 
                        camera's ability to capture video footage of 
                        the officer's activities.
                    (B) Activation.--Both the video and audio recording 
                functions of the body camera shall be activated 
                whenever a Department police officer is responding to a 
                call for service or at the initiation of any other law 
                enforcement or investigative stop between a Department 
                police officer and a member of the public, except that 
                when an immediate threat to the officer's life or 
                safety makes activating the camera impossible or 
                dangerous, or in instances relating to health care 
                privacy pursuant to paragraph (2)(C)(iv), the officer 
                shall activate the camera at the first reasonable 
                opportunity to do so.
                    (C) Exception.--The body camera shall not be 
                deactivated until the stop has fully concluded and the 
                Department police officer leaves the scene.
                    (D) Law enforcement or investigative stop 
                defined.--In this paragraph, the term ``law enforcement 
                or investigative stop'' means an action by a Department 
                police officer in relation to enforcement and 
                investigation duties, including traffic stops, 
                pedestrian stops, abandoned vehicle contacts, requests 
                for identification, or responses to requests for 
                emergency assistance.
            (2) Guidance.--The Secretary shall issue, and make publicly 
        available, guidance on the use of body cameras by Department 
        police officers. The Secretary shall ensure that such 
        guidance--
                    (A) requires that Department police officers wear 
                and use body cameras pursuant to paragraph (1);
                    (B) is consistent with upholding the civil rights 
                and the privacy of patients of medical facilities of 
                the Department of Veterans Affairs, the public, and 
                employees of the Department; and
                    (C) describes the policies and procedures of the 
                Department with respect to such use of body cameras, 
                including with respect to--
                            (i) the safe and effective use of body 
                        cameras and the resulting imagery, including 
                        operational issues such as when a body camera 
                        is activated and deactivated;
                            (ii) the secure storage, handling, and 
                        destruction of recorded data collected by a 
                        body camera;
                            (iii) the retention of recorded data 
                        collected by a body camera;
                            (iv) protecting the privacy rights of an 
                        individual who may be recorded by a body 
                        camera, including with respect to instances of 
                        an individual being treated in a medical 
                        facility of the Department or in other 
                        instances requiring health care privacy;
                            (v) release of, and access to, any recorded 
                        data collected by a body camera, in accordance 
                        with relevant open-records laws of the State in 
                        which the body camera is used; and
                            (vi) making recorded data collected by a 
                        body camera available to prosecutors, defense 
                        attorneys, and other officers of a court.
            (3) Consultation.--The Secretary shall issue the guidance 
        under paragraph (2) in consultation with veterans service 
        organizations, civil rights organizations, law enforcement 
        organizations, law enforcement accreditation organizations, 
        privacy rights organizations, and other relevant organizations 
        or experts.
            (4) Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the 
        enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to the 
        Committees on Veterans' Affairs of the House of Representatives 
        and the Senate a report containing the following:
                    (A) A review of past and current use of body 
                cameras by Department police officers.
                    (B) A description of the implementation of this 
                subsection.
                    (C) The guidance issued under paragraph (2).
                    (D) A review of the use of security cameras at 
                facilities of the Department, including an analysis 
                of--
                            (i) the number of such cameras that are 
                        operational and the number that are not 
                        operational;
                            (ii) the number of employees and 
                        contractors of the Department who operate and 
                        maintain the security of such cameras; and
                            (iii) the number of such employees and 
                        contractors that is necessary to ensure that 
                        such cameras are properly operated and 
                        maintained to ensure that such facilities are 
                        observed.
    (d) Report on Staffing, Training, and Data Systems.--Not later than 
180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 
Veterans Affairs shall submit to the Committees on Veterans' Affairs of 
the House of Representatives and the Senate a report that includes the 
following:
            (1) An assessment of the hiring needs of the police force 
        of the Department of Veterans Affairs, including--
                    (A) identification of--
                            (i) the number of Department police 
                        officers as of the date of the report;
                            (ii) the number of Department police 
                        officers that the Secretary determines 
                        necessary to meet the needs of the Department; 
                        and
                            (iii) the amount of turnover among 
                        Department police officers;
                    (B) an analysis of the staffing requirements to 
                appropriately provide the improved training under 
                subsection (b);
                    (C) a discussion of how the compensation for 
                Department police officers affects such needs and 
                turnover; and
                    (D) a comparison of such compensation with the 
                compensation provided to specialty police units, such 
                as police units at medical facilities and other police 
                units in the region.
            (2) A discussion with respect to developing a plan for 
        improving police data systems and Department-wide systems for 
        tracking and analyzing incidents, arrests, ticketing, 
        prosecutions, and occurrences of the use of force.
    (e) Department Police Officer Defined.--In this section, the term 
``Department police officer'' means an employee of the Department of 
Veterans Affairs described in section 902(a) of title 38, United States 
Code.
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