[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 129 (Tuesday, August 2, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3864-S3865]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. BOOKER:
  S. 4749. A bill to improve grants administered by the Office of 
Community Oriented Policing Services, and for other purposes; to the 
Committee on the Judiciary.
  Mr. BOOKER. Mr. President, when the Federal Government authorizes 
billions of dollars in grants to States, we have a duty to ensure that 
those dollars are spent in a responsible, effective manner. 
Accountability is essential to a healthy, functioning democracy.
  And it is especially important when we discuss issues related to 
policing. In recent years, we have seen egregious instances of police 
misconduct, many of which have involved the unjustifiable deaths of 
Black people. Right now, it is vital that we prioritize initiatives 
that will improve public safety and strengthen public trust in law 
enforcement.
  As mayor of Newark, I spent hundreds of hours with police officers 
riding along with them in their squad cars and learning about the daily 
challenges they face trying to make our communities safer. I have seen 
their bravery in the face of uncertainty and their fear knowing that 
their streets are filling up with deadly weapons of war. I have 
witnessed the enormous sacrifices they make in service of the public.
  I have tremendous respect for our law enforcement officers. and I 
believe that they need support to be able to do their jobs effectively. 
I support improving officer training programs, hiring more officers in 
underresourced departments, and updating the outdated equipment law 
enforcement agencies are often left using.
  Any resources provided, however, must be coupled with transparency. 
It flies in the face of responsible governance to invest significant 
resources into something without ever knowing what parts of that 
investment are paying dividends.
  Transparency does not mean that every law enforcement program must 
come under the Federal Government's close scrutiny. Instead, it means 
commonsense data collection and reporting. It means tracking how 
Federal funds are spent and whether they produce positive or negative 
outcomes.
  It means doing basic due diligence for the purpose of improving 
policing in this country and ensuring that taxpayer dollars are being 
spent as effectively as possible.
  As Congress moves to increase Federal assistance to State and local 
law enforcement agencies, we must ensure responsible administration and 
oversight of grant programs and ensure resources are directed toward 
policing practices that actually enhance public safety and promote the 
dignity of all communities, especially Black and Brown communities.
  One of the biggest pools of funding for our Nation's law enforcement 
comes in the form of grants from the Community Oriented Policing 
Services, COPS, Office. The amount of money given to State and local 
law enforcement through these grants has steadily increased over the 
last few years, from $222 million for fiscal year 2017 to $512 million 
for fiscal year 2022.
  These grants fund the improvement of Tribal law enforcement agencies, 
school violence prevention, drug crime enforcement aria prevention, 
mental health and wellness services, equipment and technological 
capabilities, and community policing strategies.
  All of these programs share the goal of improving public safety. Yet, 
despite the large increase in funding for the COPS grant program, 
Congress has not moved to measure the successes and failures of the 
program. As such, we cannot be sure that real improvements are actually 
being made with the more than half a billion dollars in taxpayer money 
being spent.
  Reviewing how COPS grants are being spent and the outcomes they are 
producing will help realize the very goals that the COPS program aims 
to advance.
  Ensuring that the Federal Government, through COPS grants, invests in 
best practices will help train officers in the most effective ways 
possible. Establishing performance metrics for COPS grants will allow 
law enforcement agencies to identify which initiatives make officers 
and the public safer and which reduce negative and dangerous 
interactions between law enforcement and the public.
  As law enforcement agencies are called upon to bolster their data 
collection and reporting practices, it is also important to recognize 
that some agencies, particularly in underresourced communities, 
struggle to respond to those calls even with the availability of COPS 
grants. We must specifically dedicate more resources toward helping 
these law enforcement agencies meet these standards.
  In particular, many law enforcement agencies have not been fully 
equipped to report data to the Federal Bureau of

[[Page S3865]]

Investigation's National Use-of-Force Data Collection. This dearth of 
data severely hinders our ability to analyze policing trends, develop 
best practices, and hold officers accountable for wrongdoing when it 
occurs.
  These measures for transparency and accountability are basic, 
commonsense ways to invest effectively in policing and make our 
communities safer. All law enforcement agencies should be collecting 
and reporting data. All law enforcement agencies should be complying 
with civil rights laws. All law enforcement agencies should be using 
performance metrics to identify best practices. These are the building 
blocks of responsible, modern policing which we should all be able to 
agree on.
  Today, I introduced the COPS Responsible Administration and 
Management Act of 2022, which will promote the kind of accountability 
and transparency that should accompany these important investments that 
the Federal Government makes in law enforcement.
  This bill supports and complements the crucial investments we are 
making in police forces by reviewing COPS grants to ensure they are 
being effectively and efficiently administered, evaluating how COPS 
grants are being utilized and how well they are assisting law 
enforcement in making communities safer, offering grants to agencies to 
improve data reporting, and assessing agency compliance with civil 
rights laws.
  This Congress has made historic investments in improving law 
enforcement and addressing violent crime in our communities. Let us 
also take the time to make sure that those investments are paying off.
  Law enforcement agencies across the country are struggling to manage 
competing demands. Officers work incredibly hard every day to protect 
their neighborhoods, and they often do so without the equipment, 
personnel, and training that they need.
  The good news is that law enforcement agencies will be receiving many 
of these important resources with COPS grant funding. At the same time, 
if the goal of this funding is to improve policing and public safety, 
which we can all agree it is, then we must also track and evaluate the 
success of these grants.
  Our investments should produce positive outcomes for communities. 
They should reduce negative and dangerous interactions between officers 
and the public, including use-of-force incidents, and they should 
increase the public's trust in law enforcement.
  Our officers deserve resources that will help them do their jobs 
effectively and keep them safe. Our communities deserve police forces 
that are well-trained and well-informed. The COPS Administration Act 
will help secure both of those goals.

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