[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 27 (Tuesday, February 13, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Page S1904]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. SALAZAR (for himself, Mr. Chambliss, Mr. Isakson, and Mr. 
        Pryor):
  S. 560. A bill to create a Rural Policing Institute as part of the 
Federal Law Enforcement Training Center; to the Committee on the 
Judiciary.
  Mr. SALAZAR. Mr. President, I have often referred to our rural 
communities as ``the forgotten America.'' Indeed, rural America is the 
backbone of our country--but is too often neglected by policymakers and 
politicians who have lost touch with people in the heartland. Nowhere 
is this neglect felt more acutely than in small-town law enforcement 
agencies--which have been confronted with decreased funding, increased 
homeland security responsibilities, and the great toll of a meth 
epidemic that is devastating rural America.
  Many people do not realize that most American law enforcement 
agencies serve rural communities or small towns. Indeed, of the nearly 
17,000 police agencies in the United States, 90 percent serve a 
population of under 25,000 and operate with fewer than 50 sworn 
officers.
  I am well aware of the difficulties small town law enforcement 
agencies face day-in, day-out. When I was the attorney general of 
Colorado, I had the honor to work with some of America's finest law 
enforcement officials--many of them from rural Colorado. Men like Jerry 
Martin, the Dolores County Sherriff, who have consistently been able to 
do more with less. But the pressure they face is great.
  The growing demands on rural law enforcement, and shrinking budgets, 
have hit training programs particularly hard. Many rural law 
enforcement agencies simply do not have the budget to provide officers 
with adequate training. Furthermore, even those agencies that can come 
up with the money simply can't afford to take their police officers off 
the beat long enough to get additional training.
  That is where the Rural Policing Institute comes in. FLETC does a 
fantastic job training Federal, State, and local law enforcement 
officials. But FLETC does not have enough resources dedicated 
specifically toward training rural law enforcement officials. So the 
Rural Policing Institute would: evaluate the needs of rural and tribal 
law enforcement agencies; develop training programs designed to address 
the needs of rural law enforcement agencies, with a focus on combating 
meth, domestic violence, and school violence; export those training 
programs to rural and tribal law enforcement agencies; and conduct 
outreach to ensure that the training programs reach rural law 
enforcement agencies.
  As Colorado's attorney general, I learned that a small investment in 
law enforcement training can pay great dividends. This legislation 
would do just that--by ensuring that our rural and small town law 
enforcement officers have the training they need to protect their 
communities.
  I am proud of my roots in rural southern Colorado. Communities like 
mine are the heart of our Nation--and the men and women who protect 
them deserve the best possible training.
  I thank Senators Chambliss, Isakson, and Pryor for cosponsoring this 
legislation.
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