2023 Colorado Revised Statutes › Title 24 - GOVERNMENT - STATE (§§ 24-1-101 — 24-116-102) › PRINCIPAL DEPARTMENTS (§§ 24-30-101 — 24-36-306) › Article 33.5 - Public Safety (§§ 24-33.5-101 — 24-33.5-2704) › Part 5 - DIVISION OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE (§§ 24-33.5-501 — 24-33.5-536) › Section 24-33.5-529 - State's mission for assistance in recruiting and training (SMART)

(1)
(a)
There is created in the division the state's mission for assistance in recruiting and training (SMART) policing grant program, referred to in this section as the "SMART policing program", to provide grants to law enforcement agencies to increase the number of P.O.S.T.-certified and non-certified law enforcement officers who are representative of the communities they serve and to provide training for those additional law enforcement officers.
(b)
Eligible grant recipients include county or municipal law enforcement agencies, including those serving rural jurisdictions, which for this section means a county or municipality with a population of fewer than fifty thousand people according to the last federal census and tribal law enforcement agencies and third-party membership organizations on behalf of a law enforcement agency.
(c)
Grants may be awarded to increase the diversity of P.O.S.T.-certified and non-certified law enforcement professionals and public safety employees to better reflect the community in which they work, which may include:
(I)
Providing opportunities for P.O.S.T-certified and non-certified law enforcement professionals to receive training in equity, diversity, and inclusion;
(II)
Creating partnerships with schools, school districts, colleges, or universities to develop and implement internship or mentorship programs for students interested in a career in law enforcement who are representative of the communities they serve;
(III)
Creating partnerships with schools, school districts, or youth-service organizations to develop and implement youth programs to foster a positive relationship between youth and law enforcement, and to foster early interest in law enforcement careers in youth who are representative of the communities they serve;
(IV)
Developing and implementing education campaigns for law enforcement recruitment and training for P.O.S.T.-certified and non-certified law enforcement professionals who are representative of the communities they serve; and
(V)
Any other strategy demonstrated to recruit and train a high-quality and diverse law enforcement workforce if deemed appropriate by the division.
(d)
A law enforcement agency may use the grant money to cover costs associated with eligible law enforcement officers' salaries and benefits, including the provision of, or assistance in the provision of, child care for eligible law enforcement officers; recruitment; and training.
(e)
The division shall administer the SMART policing program pursuant to this section. Subject to available appropriations, the division shall make grant payments from money appropriated to the division by the general assembly for the SMART policing program. The division shall reach out to and inform rural and small law enforcement agencies of the existence of the SMART policing program. The division shall develop guidance for applicants on how it would measure the sustainability of a grant to pay for salaries and benefits on a declining basis in subsequent years of a grant.
(f)
(I)
A law enforcement agency shall use the grant money to supplement the costs of recruitment and training. A local government or law enforcement agency may not use the grant money to supplant these costs.
(II)
A law enforcement agency may not use the grant award to cover the costs of eligible law enforcement officer salaries and benefits if the eligible law enforcement officers would have been hired by the law enforcement agency even if the division had not awarded the law enforcement agency the grant.
(III)
Law enforcement agencies who are awarded grants under the SMART policing program may be subject to an audit by the state auditor to ensure that the grant money is used for the purposes articulated in this section.
(2)
The executive director shall develop policies and procedures related to how and by when law enforcement agencies and any organization that provides training, technical assistance, or financial support to such agencies submit grant applications, performance metrics that grantees will be expected to provide, data, and other relevant information as part of their grant report described in subsection (5) of this section and how grant money is disbursed, including:
(a)
Establishing a requirement that an applicant specify the percentage of any grant that will be used to pay for each of the categories of recruitment, training, and salary and benefits;
(b)
Establishing minimum terms of service for individuals who receive or benefit from grant funds; and
(c)
Procedures to ensure at least twenty percent of the money allocated is distributed to law enforcement agencies in rural counties and municipalities with a population of fewer than fifty thousand persons, wholly located either east of interstate 25 or west of the continental divide. If the number of eligible grants from rural applicants is less than twenty percent of all monetary awards, then the committee may reallocate the difference to other jurisdictions.
(2.5)
The executive director may provide technical support deemed necessary by the executive director for application assistance to applicants.
(3)
(a)
There is created in the division the law enforcement workforce advisory committee, referred to in this section as the "committee". The committee consists of the members of the law enforcement workforce advisory committee established pursuant to section
24-33.5-528 (3)
.
(b)
The members of the committee serve without compensation and without reimbursement for expenses.
(c)
The committee shall review applications for grants submitted pursuant to this section and make recommendations on which agencies should receive grants and the amount of each grant. In determining which entities should receive grants under this section, the committee shall consider:
(I)
How the grant would increase the number and training of P.O.S.T.-certified and non-certified law enforcement officers who are representative of the communities they serve;
(II)
Compliance of the applicant with all relevant state and local laws or a demonstration of how the applicant will come into such compliance;
(III)
Demographic data of the agency and how the grant would enhance diversity of the agency's workforce and ensure its workforce was reflective of the demographic of the community;
(IV)
The breakdown of the percentage of money used for recruitment, training, and salaries and benefits, giving priority to salary and benefits; and
(V)
Sustainability of the project after the grant ends.
(4)
(a)
There is created in the state treasury the SMART policing grant fund, referred to in this section as the "fund", consisting of any money appropriated to the fund by the general assembly and any money received by the division from gifts, grants, or donations for the SMART policing program. Subject to annual appropriation by the general assembly, the division may expend money from the fund for the direct and indirect costs associated with implementing the SMART policing program.
(b)
The state treasurer may invest any money in the fund not expended for the purpose of this section as provided by law. The state treasurer shall credit all interest and income derived from the investment and deposit of money in the fund to the fund. Any unexpended and unencumbered money remaining in the fund at the end of a fiscal year remains in the fund and is not credited or transferred to the general fund or another fund.
(c)
The general assembly shall appropriate from the general fund to the division three million seven hundred fifty thousand dollars in each of the state fiscal years 2022-23 and 2023-24 for the SMART policing program.
(d)
The division may seek, accept, and expend gifts, grants, or donations from private or public sources for the purposes of this section. The division shall transmit all money received through gifts, grants, or donations to the state treasurer, who shall credit the money to the fund.
(5)
(a)
On or before August 1, 2023, and each August 1 thereafter through 2026, each law enforcement agency that receives a grant shall provide a narrative and financial report to the division describing how the grant funds were utilized. On or before October 1, 2023, and each October 1 thereafter through 2026, the division shall submit a summary of the reports to the judiciary committees of the house of representatives and senate, or to any successor committees, and provide a summary of the SMART policing program during the hearings conducted pursuant to the "State Measurement for Accountable, Responsive, and Transparent (SMART) Government Act", part 2 of article
7
of title
2
, following each year in which the SMART policing program was in effect.
(b)
Notwithstanding the requirement in section
24-1-136 (11)(a)(I)
, the requirement to submit the report described in this subsection (5) continues indefinitely.
(6)
This section is repealed, effective July 1, 2027.
Amended by 2024 Ch. 125,§ 4, eff. 4/29/2024.
Amended by 2023 Ch. 443,§ 4, eff. 6/7/2023.
Added by 2022 Ch. 199, § 2, eff. 5/20/2022.