Title: Better Community Policing Recognition Act
Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement

Summary:
Better Community Policing Recognition Act
This bill creates an award—the Better Community Policing Award—for law enforcement officers who exemplify best practices or significant innovation to reduce the excessive use of force or improve community policing.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3968 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3968

  To create an award for law enforcement officers who exemplify best 
  practices to reduce the excessive use of force or improve community 
                   policing, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             June 16, 2020

  Mr. Cotton introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
               referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To create an award for law enforcement officers who exemplify best 
  practices to reduce the excessive use of force or improve community 
                   policing, 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 ``Better Community Policing 
Recognition Act''.

SEC. 2. AWARDS FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS.

    Part Q of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act 
of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10381 et seq.) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating sections 1708 and 1709 (34 U.S.C. 
        10388, 10389) as sections 1709 and 1710, respectively; and
            (2) by inserting after section 1707 (34 U.S.C. 10387) the 
        following:

``SEC. 1708. BETTER COMMUNITY POLICING AWARD.

    ``(a) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) Better community policing award.--The term `Better 
        Community Policing Award' means an award authorized under 
        subsection (b).
            ``(2) Eligible law enforcement officer.--The term `eligible 
        law enforcement officer' means a career law enforcement officer 
        who is--
                    ``(A) employed by a law enforcement agency 
                receiving funding from a grant under section 1701; and
                    ``(B) nominated for a Better Community Policing 
                Award by--
                            ``(i) the law enforcement agency that 
                        employs the law enforcement officer; or
                            ``(ii) the attorney general of the State in 
                        which the law enforcement agency that employs 
                        the law enforcement officer is located.
    ``(b) Awards Authorized.--The Attorney General may distribute cash 
awards to eligible law enforcement officers who exemplify best 
practices or significant innovation to--
            ``(1) reduce the excessive use of force; or
            ``(2) improve community policing.
    ``(c) Criteria.--Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment 
of this section, the Attorney General shall establish--
            ``(1) the process by which a law enforcement agency or the 
        attorney general of a State may nominate an eligible law 
        enforcement officer for a Better Community Policing Award;
            ``(2) the criteria for the selection of recipients of a 
        Better Community Policing Award; and
            ``(3) the maximum amount of a Better Community Policing 
        Award.
    ``(d) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of 
this section, and annually thereafter, the Attorney General shall 
submit to Congress a report that includes, for the previous calendar 
year--
            ``(1) the number of nominations received by the Attorney 
        General for a Better Community Policing Award;
            ``(2) the number of Better Community Policing Awards 
        distributed by the Attorney General;
            ``(3) a geographical breakdown of the location of the 
        recipients of a Better Community Policing Award; and
            ``(4) information relating to the size of each law 
        enforcement agency that--
                    ``(A) nominated a law enforcement officer for a 
                Better Community Policing Award; or
                    ``(B) employed a recipient of a Better Community 
                Policing Award.
    ``(e) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this section $5,000,000 for each of fiscal 
years 2021 though 2025.''.
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