[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 141 (Friday, October 9, 1998)]
[House]
[Pages H10331-H10334]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 AMENDING PART Q OF OMNIBUS CRIME CONTROL AND SAFE STREETS ACT OF 1968

  Mr. McCOLLUM. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
Senate bill (S. 2235) to amend part Q of the Omnibus Crime Control and 
Safe Streets Act of 1968 to encourage the use of school resource 
officers.
  The Clerk read as follows:
       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SCHOOL RESOURCE OFFICERS.

       Part Q of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe 
     Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3796dd et seq.) is amended--
       (1) in section 1701(d)--
       (A) by redesignating paragraphs (8) through (10) as 
     paragraphs (9) through (11), respectively; and
       (B) by inserting after paragraph (7) the following:
       ``(8) establish school-based partnerships between local law 
     enforcement agencies and local school systems by using school 
     resource officers who operate in and around elementary and 
     secondary schools to combat school-related crime and disorder 
     problems, gangs, and drug activities;''; and
       (2) in section 1709--
       (A) by redesignating the first 3 undesignated paragraphs as 
     paragraphs (1) through (3), respectively; and
       (B) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(4) `school resource officer' means a career law 
     enforcement officer, with sworn authority, deployed in 
     community-oriented policing, and assigned by the employing 
     police department or agency to work in collaboration with 
     schools and community-based organizations--
       ``(A) to address crime and disorder problems, gangs, and 
     drug activities affecting or occurring in or around an 
     elementary or secondary school;
       ``(B) to develop or expand crime prevention efforts for 
     students;
       ``(C) to educate likely school-age victims in crime 
     prevention and safety;
       ``(D) to develop or expand community justice initiatives 
     for students;
       ``(E) to train students in conflict resolution, restorative 
     justice, and crime awareness;
       ``(F) to assist in the identification of physical changes 
     in the environment that may reduce crime in or around the 
     school; and
       ``(G) to assist in developing school policy that addresses 
     crime and to recommend procedural changes.''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Florida (Mr. McCollum) and the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Scott) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Florida (Mr. McCollum).


                             General Leave

  Mr. McCOLLUM. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their 
remarks on the Senate bill now under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Florida?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. McCOLLUM. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, S. 2235 amends the 100,000 ``COPS on the Beat'' program, 
established in the 1994 Crime Bill, to permit community policing grants 
to be used to establish school-based partnerships between local law 
enforcement agencies and local school systems. The grants would allow 
for ``school resource officers'' to operate in and around elementary 
and secondary schools to combat school-related crime and disorder 
problems, gangs, and drug activities. S. 2235 passed the Senate on 
October 7 and is sponsored by Senator Campbell. The gentleman from 
Connecticut (Mr. Maloney) is the sponsor on the House companion bill, 
H.R. 4009.
  Mr. Speaker, the President's ``COPS on the Beat'' program authorized 
$8.8 billion over 6 years to give grants to State and local police 
departments to put 100,000 community-oriented police officers on the 
beat across the country. As of March 1998, the latest month in which a 
survey was completed, the COPS office claimed to have funded 71,000 of 
those police officers. Approximately 40,800 are actually hired and 
deployed on the streets. About 2,400 more are in training.
  The remaining 29,000 are officers counted under the ``COPS M.O.R.E.'' 
program, which funds technology and equipment and is believed to 
increase policing activities and police presence on the streets. These 
grants have been counted towards the 100,000 goal, not because grants 
have been used to pay police officers' salaries, but because technology 
and equipment purchased has supposedly freed up officers for the 
streets.
  While the COPS program was specifically authorized by Congress to 
fund 100,000 community police officers, broad interpretation of the Act 
has allowed the Justice Department to fund several other initiatives 
through the COPS program. Some of these programs include grants to 
employ community policing to address domestic violence, grants to 
communities to address gang violence, and grants to support law 
enforcement efforts to combat the rise of youth firearms violence.
  Mr. Speaker, the bill we are considering today will allow for the 
COPS grants to be used to put community police officers in our Nation's 
schools. It will allow school officials and law enforcement to better 
identify young people who cause trouble frequently, both in the school 
and in the community.
  It is a sad reality that many of today's schools are becoming 
increasingly dangerous places to be. Schoolyard brawls have become 
lethal confrontations involving knives, guns or drugs. Recent school-
related shootings serve as a sobering example of just how urgent the 
situation has become. Rather than providing our children with a safe 
place to learn or to grow, many of our schools have become combat 
zones.
  A look at crime statistics show that while murder rates for young 
people may be declining, the schoolyard murder rate has almost doubled 
in the last 2 years. Mr. Speaker, 25 students have been killed in U.S. 
schools since January 1998.

                              {time}  1920

  This is unacceptable. No child in America should go to a school in 
fear of her safety or his safety and well-being. The fact is that we 
are going to have a demographic shift shortly. We are going to see a 
rise in the number of young people in the age group which might be 
exposed to these situations, and this bill is all that much more 
important for that reason.
  The bill would allow schools to establish partnerships with local law 
enforcement to provide much-needed order to allow for learning, not 
violence, to occur in schools.
  I support this addition to the COPS program. I think it will improve 
the existing law. I commend the gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. 
Maloney) and Senator Campbell for their initiation of this legislation.
  I am pleased the Subcommittee on Crime supports this, albeit we did 
not have the opportunity to bring it forward through the subcommittee 
this year, but we have chosen to come directly to the floor, because it 
is a very good bill. I do not think anyone would oppose it. I urge my 
colleagues to vote for it.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. SCOTT. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 2235. In response to the 
rising tide of violent crime in and around schools around this Nation, 
Congress must step up our fight against juvenile crime, particularly 
those initiatives that come from a prevention perspective.
  This legislation would amend the Omnibus Crime Bill and Safe Streets 
Act of 1968, encouraging school-based partnerships between local law 
enforcement agencies and local school systems. School-based 
partnerships would be eligible to receive Federal funds to hire school 
resource officers or SROs.
  An SRO would be a career law enforcement officer with sworn 
authority, deployed in community-oriented policing and assigned to the 
deploying police department or agency to work in collaboration with 
schools and community-based organizations to address crime and disorder 
problems, gangs and drug activities affecting or occurring

[[Page H10332]]

in or around elementary schools or secondary schools, develop or expand 
crime prevention efforts for students, educate likely school-age 
victims in crime prevention and safety, develop or expand community 
justice initiatives, train students in conflict resolution, restorative 
justice, and crime awareness, assist in the identification of physical 
changes in the environment that may reduce crime problems, and/or 
assist in the development of anticrime school policy and procedural 
changes.
  This legislation complements an existing school-based partnership 
research grant program administered by the Community-Oriented Police 
Services, or the COPS program. The existing program funds demonstration 
efforts on particular singular solutions to youth crime and violence. 
The proposed legislation would explicitly allow COPS program resources 
to be used in general school-based partnership SRO efforts.
  This statutory language is vital to clearly articulate the importance 
of fighting juvenile crime, and will be essential in establishing the 
fight against juvenile crime as a national priority.
  President Clinton recently announced that the same community policing 
techniques that are helping make our streets safe again are the best 
way to help keep our schools safe. This legislation is an important 
step in making our schools safe for our children.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman 
from Connecticut (Mr. Maloney), the chief sponsor of the legislation.
  Mr. MALONEY of Connecticut. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for 
yielding time to me.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today to urge passage of Senate bill 2235, which 
is the Senate companion to H.R. 4009, the School Resource Partnership 
Act. I would like to thank the gentleman from New York (Mr. Schumer) 
and the gentleman from Florida (Mr. McCollum), the gentleman from 
Michigan (Mr. Conyers) and the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Hyde) for 
their help in this matter, and I would also like to commend Senator Ben 
Nighthorse Campbell for his tireless work in support of this 
legislation.
  As this Congress comes to a close, the new school year is just 
beginning. Children around the country are heading to school, seeing 
old friends, and making new ones. They are learning new ideas and 
sharing new experiences. We trust our schools with the future and 
safety of our children. The rash of school-related shootings and 
violence that have occurred in both small towns and large cities, rural 
areas and urban centers, have shocked the Nation. We in Congress must 
act to ensure that our schools provide a safe place for our children to 
grow and to learn.
  Over the past 18 months, throughout my congressional district, I have 
held a series of meetings with local police chiefs, school 
superintendents, teachers, and principals to discuss strategies that 
are working to reduce school violence and to find ways Congress can 
better assist the local leaders in their fight to protect the 
community.
  Placing a uniquely trained community police officer in partnership 
with schools to reach out to kids before they get drawn into crime or 
violence was the clear suggestion I repeatedly heard in my numerous 
meetings with local law enforcement and education officials.
  As a result of these meetings, I introduced in the House this 
legislation, that will enable localities to place a School Resource 
Officer, also known as an SRO, in designated schools, forming a 
partnership between the schools and police departments that will help 
keep children safe and provide juvenile intervention before police or 
court action becomes necessary.
  The SRO will serve as a peace officer who prevents violence, a 
teacher who instructs students in areas of his or her expertise, and a 
counselor who serves as a liaison to community resources.
  Additionally, the SRO will have the opportunity to serve as a role 
model for today's students, who want and need additional positive 
influences in their lives outside of their home. Unlike the police 
officer who responds to school problems as a result of an emergency 
call from the principal, the SRO regards the school as his or her 
community. The officer knows the school's physical design and who 
belongs on campus and who does not. The SRO initiative will also save 
money, especially for the criminal justice system, by resulting in 
fewer incidents requiring court action.
  My legislation will enable the localities to place a School Resource 
Officer in appropriately designated schools, forming a partnership 
between the schools and police departments that will keep our children 
safe.
  Just one example, Mr. Speaker, a school in Wolcott, Connecticut, in 
my district, on their own resources, has assigned a School Resource 
Officer now for about a year. During that year, two-thirds, there has 
been a two-thirds reduction in the number of incidents of a police 
officer having to respond to the school. This clearly works. This is a 
service that works, and this is an approach that works to prevent 
crime, to prevent violence, and to help kids stay out of trouble, make 
sure they do not get into trouble in the first place.
  In addition to this important legislation, we worked hard to include 
in the FY 1999 Commerce-State-Justice appropriations bill an earmark of 
$20 million in unobligated funds to be directed for hiring School 
Resource Officers under the Department of Justice COPS program.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge passage of this important legislation.
  Mr. SCOTT. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the 
gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Stupak), who is a former police officer, 
and one who has worked diligently to reduce juvenile crime.
  Mr. STUPAK. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding time to 
me.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of S. 2235, which will 
take another step to combat school violence. The gentleman from 
Connecticut (Mr. Maloney) introduced this bill in the House, and I want 
to thank him for his leadership on this very important issue.
  The bill of the gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Maloney) and this 
bill amends the COPS law to create this uniquely trained community 
police officer designated to provide early intervention for our 
children. School-based partnerships would be eligible to receive 
Federal funding to hire School Resource Officers.
  This summer, the Law Enforcement Caucus held two forums on school 
violence. We heard from experts around the country, including Education 
Secretary Riley, prevention experts, educators from the Baltimore and 
D.C. schools, the FBI, Department of Justice, authors, and scholars.
  Every participant, every participant at our hearings, although they 
came from different backgrounds and professions, expressed the same 
theme: We can fight juvenile crime and school violence with aggressive 
early intervention, prevention, and education strategies.
  Creating a School Resource Officer, as the gentleman from Connecticut 
(Mr. Maloney) has proposed, is exactly one kind of a program which will 
help us achieve peace and safety in our schools. The School Resource 
Officer is designed to work in cooperation with the schools and 
community-based organizations to address crimes and disorders in the 
schools.
  Besides being a police officer, the School Resource Officer will also 
be trained to develop crime prevention efforts with students, educate 
school-age victims in crime prevention and safety, train students in 
conflict resolution, and assist with the development of school policies 
and procedures to help reduce crime. This comprehensive, community-
oriented approach to law enforcement is the most effective form of 
preventing crime, and will go a long way to make our schools safe 
again.
  Schools are places of learning for our children, but schools can only 
be effective if they are a safe place. Creating a School Resource 
Officer, as proposed by the gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Maloney) is 
a good step to help us provide a safe environment at school, so that 
our kids may learn and thrive in the best possible setting.

                              {time}  1930

  Mr. Speaker, I urge strong support of Senate bill 2235, and its 
passage.
  Mr. SCOTT. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the 
gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Etheridge), a former State 
superintendent of public instruction in the State of North Carolina.

[[Page H10333]]

  Mr. ETHERIDGE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. 
Scott), my friend, for yielding me this time.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise this evening in strong support of this 
legislation that will, in my opinion, have a very positive impact on 
the problem of school violence in this country. I want to thank the 
gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Maloney) for being the sponsor of this 
legislation on the House side, and I appreciate him allowing me to be a 
cosponsor.
  Mr. Speaker, the recent tragic incidents of violent crime in our 
schools violate the very values that define us as a people. We cannot 
tolerate violent crimes no matter where they occur and no matter who 
commits them. Violent crimes must be punished, and school violence 
requires an urgent response, because the aftereffects of school 
violence poison the learning environment for our children and for our 
teachers.
  These recent incidents must serve as a call to action. Congress must 
respond with effective means to prevent and combat school violence. The 
School Resource Officer legislation will help provide the response that 
is needed to attack the problem of school violence in a very effective 
manner, in my opinion. This bipartisan bill will apply the proven 
principles and techniques of community policing to the school 
environment.
  School resource officers are highly trained law enforcement officers 
with expertise in tackling the unique challenges of school-based crime 
and violence, and they certainly are unique.
  Mr. Speaker, prior to my election to this Congress, as the gentleman 
from Virginia has just shared, I served for 8 years as the elected 
State superintendent of schools in my State. North Carolina has 
pioneered the use of school resource officers to provide our children's 
safety in our schools.
  Mr. Speaker, 78 percent of the high schools in my State now have 
school resource officers, as do about half of the middle schools. We 
now have more than 450 school resource officers serving our schools 
throughout the State of North Carolina. These officers are making a 
difference in keeping our communities and school environments safe and 
helping our children have a good learning environment.
  North Carolina can serve as a model for the Nation, and this 
legislation will codify the good work the Justice Department is now 
doing in channeling law enforcement resources directly into our schools 
across this land.
  It is really very simple. Our children cannot learn if they are not 
safe. We cannot expect our children to learn geometry if they are 
scared to death about the possibility of gunfire. We cannot expect our 
teachers to teach effectively when the scourge of drugs invade their 
classrooms. And we cannot expect parents to have any faith in our 
schools as learning institutions without providing them the kind of 
peace of mind that the schools are free of crime and drugs and violence 
and gangs.
  School resource officers are a tremendous asset to this effort, and 
this bill will provide a uniform standard, while maintaining local 
flexibility. Let me repeat that again: A uniform standard with local 
flexibility.
  Congress must respond to the concerns and fears of our students and 
parents and pass this innovative approach to fighting school crime.
  Earlier this year, a report in a national magazine, U.S. News and 
World Report, documented the success of school resource officers in my 
State. As the editorial points out, and I quote, ``In the past 2 years, 
reported firearm possessions have dropped 50 percent in North Carolina 
schools, and principals identify school resource officers as the single 
most important factor in deterring crime.''
  I was honored to join my friend and colleague, the gentleman from 
Connecticut (Mr. Maloney), as an original cosponsor of the House 
version of this bill, and I am pleased this legislation has received 
the support of the National Education Association, the International 
Brotherhood of Police, and a long list of other groups that I will not 
categorize here tonight.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge this Congress to pass this bill without delay so 
that we can provide this safety for our children and our teachers in 
our schools.
  Mr. SCOTT. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the 
gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Berry), another distinguished cosponsor of 
the House version of the legislation.
  Mr. BERRY. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. 
Scott) for yielding me this time.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this bill. The 1st 
Congressional District of Arkansas knows firsthand the terrible 
tragedies that can occur in our schools. The school resource officer is 
a common-sense approach to give our schools the tools they need to get 
the job done. I compliment the gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Maloney) 
for bringing this bill to the House, and I urge support of this bill 
and passage.
  Mr. SCOTT. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. 
Hyde), the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Conyers), the gentleman from 
New York (Mr. Schumer) and the gentleman from Florida (Mr. McCollum) 
for bringing this expeditiously to the floor. I also thank the various 
sponsors and cosponsors that have spoken on this bill.
  Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 2235. In response 
to the rising tide of violent crime in and around schools across this 
nation, Congress must step-up our fight against juvenile crime from a 
prevention perspective.
  This legislation would amend the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe 
Streets Act of 1968, encouraging school-based partnerships between 
local law enforcement agencies and local school systems. School based 
partnerships would be eligible to receive federal funding to hire 
``School Resource Officers'' (SRO's).
  A SRO would be a career law enforcement officer, with sworn 
authority, deployed in community-oriented policing, and assigned by the 
employing police department or agency to work in collaboration with 
schools and community-based organizations to (1) address crime and 
disorder problems, gangs, and drug activities, affecting or occurring 
in or around an elementary or secondary school, (2) develop or expand 
crime prevention efforts for students (3) educate likely school-age 
victims in crime prevention and safety; (4) develop or expand community 
justice initiatives; (5) train students in conflict resolution, 
restorative justice, and crime awareness; (6) assist in the 
identification of physical changes in the environment that may reduce 
the crime problem, and/or (7) assist with the development of anti-
crime, school policy and procedural changes.
  This legislation complements an existing School-based Partnership 
research grant program administered by the Community Oriented Policing 
Services (COPS). The existing program funds demonstration efforts on 
particular, single solutions to youth crime and violence. The proposed 
legislation would explicitly allow COPS program resources to be used in 
general (non-research) school based partnerships/SRO efforts.
  This statutory language is vital to clearly articulating the 
importance of fighting juvenile crime, and will be essential in 
establishing the fight against juvenile crime as a national priority.
  President Clinton recently announced that ``the same community 
policing techniques that are helping to make our streets safe again are 
the best way to help keep our schools safe.''
  This legislation is an important step in making our schools safe for 
our children.
  Mrs. McCARTHY of New York. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 
4009 and Senate bill 2235. I became involved in education issues 
because I see education as an antidote to gangs and guns. But how can 
our kids realize their full potential if the violence is happening on 
school grounds?
  Sadly, schools are not immune from crime. Incidents in places like 
Jonesboro, Arkansas and Springfield, Oregon have shown us that every 
school, in every part the country, must work to prevent violence, and 
address violence when it happens.
  When I visit the schools on Long Island, I see their commitment to 
keeping students safe. But my schools tell me that they often do not 
have the resources to fight violence. The more time and energy they 
need to devote to preventing violence, the less they have to educate 
students. Teachers and principals should not have to serve as police 
officers.
  H.R. 4009 will provide the tools to help schools and the police work 
in partnership to keep young people safe. I want to commend my 
colleague from Connecticut for introducing this bill, and I urge my 
colleagues to support it.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. McCOLLUM. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Snowbarger). The question is on the 
motion offered by the gentleman from Florida (Mr. McCollum) that the 
House suspend the rules and pass the Senate bill, S. 2235.

[[Page H10334]]

  The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor 
thereof) the rules were suspended and the Senate bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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