Posted by: jgomori Posted date: August 3, 2022

August 1 was a big day for the law enforcement community. In a significant victory for NAPO and the law enforcement community, the Senate passed H.R. 6943, the Public Safety Officer Support Act by unanimous consent. As the House passed this bill by a vote of 402-17 on May 18, it is now on its way to the President’s desk to be signed into law. The bill will make post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) a line of duty injury under the Public Safety Officers’ Benefits (PSOB) Program; The Senate passed the TBI and PTSD Law Enforcement Training Act by unanimous consent Aug. 1, sending it to the President to be signed into law. The legislation provides for much-needed additional training opportunities for law enforcement to improve officer response to persons affected by traumatic brain injury (TBI) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD); On Aug. 1, the Senate also passed by unanimous consent four of NAPO’s other National Police Week priorities: Fighting Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Act of 2022; Law Enforcement De-Escalation Training Act of 2022; Invest to Protect Act of 2022; and Strong Communities Act. The Fighting PTSD Act recognizes the prevalence of PTSD within the public safety profession and the need to address PTSD and acute stress disorder among officers to make certain they get the treatment and help they need. The Law Enforcement De-Escalation Training Act would provide training curricula and funding to state and local law enforcement for training, including train-the-trainer models, on alternatives to use of force, de-escalation, and responding to mental and behavioral health and suicidal crises. The Invest to Protect Act would dedicate $50 million in funding from the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Office specifically for small state, local, or tribal law enforcement agencies, defined as those employing fewer than 200 officers, to help them train their officers, implement or expand body-worn camera (BWC) programs, provide mental health resources for their officers, and retain and hire officers. The Strong Communities Act would allow for COPS Hiring Program funds to be used to pay for local law enforcement recruits to attend schools or academies if the recruits agree to serve in the communities in which they live; The Washington Report is taking a hiatus for the August Recess along with Congress with an expected return of the Washington Report Aug. 26, unless something requires more immediate attention.

Click on the Aug. 3, 2022 Washington Report below for more details on these and other legislative updates.