Letter to the Hon. Donald J. Trump - Reichert, Pascrell Send Letter to President Calling for Increased COPS Funding

Letter

Dear President Trump:

As Co-Chairs of the bipartisan House Law Enforcement Caucus, we write in strong support of the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office) and the programs the office administers on behalf of our nation's law enforcement officers. With tensions between law enforcement officers and the communities Dear Mr. President:

As co-chairs of the Congressional Law Enforcement Caucus, we respectfully request that you illuminate the White House in blue on the night of May 15, 2017 in honor of Peace Officers Memorial Day. This is an important show of support for the law enforcement community. It is also an opportunity to honor the more than 21,000 officers who have given their lives while serving their communities.

In 1962, President Kennedy proclaimed May 15th as National Peace Officers Memorial Day and the calendar week in which May 15th falls, as National Police Week. Established by a joint resolution of Congress in 1962, National Police Week pays special recognition to those law enforcement officers who have lost their lives in the line of duty.

This year, nearly 400 new names will be inscribed on the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial, including the 139 officers who were killed in 2016. The total number of names on the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial will increase this year to more than 21,000, dating back to the first known officer fatality in 1791. On average, one law enforcement officer is killed in the line of duty somewhere in the United States every 58 hours.

A Federal law enacted in 1994 authorizes the American flag to be flown at half-staff on Peace Officers Memorial Day as a richly deserved tribute to our nation's fallen officers and their families. Illuminating the White House in blue on May 15th of this year would be a fitting complement to this great honor and an important show of support for the men and women who are serving and protecting our great nation.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

Dave Reichert (R-WA)
Bill Pascrell (D-NJ)they serve on the rise, we are concerned by any legislative or budget proposals that would jeopardize the work of the COPS Office. Now, more than ever, it is essential to support community policing efforts that build trust and mutual respect between law enforcement officers and communities.

For over two decades, the COPS Office has provided critical resources to state, local, territorial, and tribal law enforcement agencies to advance community policing efforts that have reduced crime and made towns and cities across America safer. These resources have helped implement initiatives to develop and test innovative policing strategies and provide training to community members, local government leaders, and all levels of law enforcement.

One of the most critical programs the COPS Office oversees is the COPS Hiring competitive gr
Sincerely,ants program, which provides struggling communities with necessary funding to address their personnel needs. Since its inception, the COPS Hiring Program has placed approximately 129,000 officers in communities across the United States to advance policing and crime prevention efforts. These are critical bodies on the street patrolling neighborhoods, as well as school resource officers in our nation's classrooms to help keep our children safe. Staffing challenges not only jeopardize the safety of our men and women in uniform, but also exacerbate the breakdown in trust between law enforcement and community. Police departments must have the staff necessary to effectively engage with their communities and proactively respond to their needs, instead of running from one crime to the next.

In fact, the study The Effects of COPS Office Funding on Sworn Force Levels, Crimes, and Arrests, completed by researchers from the University of Chicago, Duke University, and Cornell University, found that federal investment in local policing through the COPS Hiring Program led to a reduction in crime without a corresponding increase in arrests. This study demonstrates the effectiveness of community policing in reducing crimes while not exacerbating our nation's incarceration rates and the strain on local economies.

The COPS Hiring Program is a modest investment with huge returns for our communities, but it is much more than that. The COPS Office is vital to our nation's homeland security. Local law enforcement officers are our first line of defense - they are the first to respond to acts of domestic terrorism and they are increasingly tasked with additional duties in the national interest like drug enforcement and gang elimination efforts. As the federal government calls upon local cops to do more, we have a responsibility to ensure they have the tools and resources necessary to carry out their critical mission to protect the homeland.

The COPS Office is also responsible for implementing the Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu National Blue Alert Act (Public Law No: 114-12), a law we authored in response to targeted attacks on law enforcement. This law establishes a nationwide Blue Alert communications system, modeled after Amber Alerts, to help disseminate information on the serious injury or death of a law enforcement officer in the line of duty, an officer who is missing in connection with the officer's official duties, or an imminent and credible threat that
Sincerely,an individual intends to cause the serious injury or death of a law enforcement officer. The sharing of this information will help law enforcement officers more quickly identify and apprehend violent criminals and prevent further loss of life. We plan to continue to engage with the COPS Office to ensure that this law is implemented expeditiously to help ensure the safety of our police officers when they are in the line of duty.

Unwavering support for the COPS Office is one of the best ways we can work together to support our law enforcement community. The Law Enforcement Caucus looks forward to working with your Administration to improve community policing efforts across the country to keep our neighborhoods safe.

Thank you in advance for your attention to this matter.

Sincerely,

Congressman Dave Reichert (R-WA)

Congressman Bill Pascrell (D-NJ)

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