Support Local Law Enforcement

Local law enforcement officers are on the frontline of both public safety and community relations. America’s law enforcement officers put on their uniforms every day to help make our communities safer, at great personal risk. And, every day, police officers interact with community members young and old in myriad ways, the vast majority of which do not end in arrest. For many city residents, their most frequent contact with local government is via police officers. As such, police officers represent more than themselves or even their departments; for some, they represent the entire city government.

It is, therefore, critical that law enforcement officers are safe while doing their jobs. This requires sufficient funding for appropriate staffing levels and training, and it requires a healthy and trusting relationship with the communities they serve. Over the past several years, tensions have flared between communities of color and law enforcement officers, as high-profile officer-involved deaths have gripped the nation’s attention. For the safety of officers and community members, it is imperative that local law enforcement agencies receive the training and resources they need to build trust with the communities they serve.

The Federal Government is uniquely situated to support the needs of local law enforcement agencies, as it provides significant funding via the Byrne Justice Assistance Grants (JAG) the largest source of federal justice-related funding to states, and more than $100 million for hiring of police officers via the DOJ Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS). The COPS Office awards grants to state, local, territorial, and tribal law enforcement agencies to hire community policing professionals, develop and test innovative policing strategies, and provide training and technical assistance to community members, local government leaders, and law enforcement. Since its inception in 1994, the COPS Office has invested more than $14 billion to help advance community policing.

In addition, DOJ’s National Initiative for Building Community Trust and Justice provides training and technical assistance to six pilot cities around the country to enhance procedural justice, reduce the impact of implicit bias, facilitate police-community reconciliation to address historical and present-day race-related tensions, and implement group violence intervention strategies. The Urban Institute is conducting an evaluation of the National Initiative, but cities are already seeing promising results. Birmingham Police Chief A.C. Roper reports that among those most likely to be victims or perpetrators of gun violence, homicides were down 33 percent and non-fatal shootings were down 60 percent during the first half of 2017. In Pittsburgh’s Zone 5, the toughest police precinct in the city, complaints against officers have dropped from 24 in 2014 to just 15 in 2016 and crime has declined in most categories. Zone 5’s Commander reports that there is now a “freer flow of information between officers and citizens.”

The early results in Birmingham and Pittsburgh are consistent with research that suggests that strengthening the relationship between police and communities enables law enforcement to more effectively lower crime and contribute to safer communities. Police legitimacy encourages compliance with the law, and encourages neighbors to cooperate with police to combat crime. Police need information to prevent and respond to crimes, and that information comes through relationships whether those people are other law enforcement officers, confidential informants, or everyday citizens. For example, the vast majority of police investigations require the assistance of witnesses, including crime victims, who often live in the same communities as those who committed the crime and may fear retribution. Thus, trust is a critical component in encouraging community members to work with police and help solve — and prevent — crimes.

Congress should create a separate line item and baseline funding for
the National Initiative for Building Community Trust and Justice to address and repair tensions between police and communities of color.

Congress should appropriate funding, consistent with past years, for grant programs that directly support state and local law enforcement efforts, including the Byrne Justice Assistance Grants (JAG), the Byrne Criminal Justice Innovation Program (BCJI), and the COPS Hiring Program (CHP).

DOJ should expand the National Initiative for Building Community Trust and Justice beyond the initial six pilot cities, make procedural justice training available to any law enforcement agency that requests it, and expand funding for research into what works in building trust between police and community.
DOJ should reinstate the COPS Office’s Collaborative Reform, a voluntary program that has helped local police departments implement evidence-based community policing programs to improve trust between officers and the communities they serve.

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