Rep. Axne Highlights New Bipartisan Bill to Boosting Resource for Law Enforcement with Altoona Police Chief - Cindy Axne
Today, Rep. Cindy Axne (IA-03) joined Iowa police chiefs and local officials to share details on her legislation, the Invest to Protect Act, which will bring more federal resources to rural and suburban police departments to help with training, staffing retention, recruitment, and operations.
Rep. Axne joined Altoona Mayor Pro Tem Jeremy Boka, Altoona Police Chief Greg Stallman, Polk County Sheriff Kevin Schneider, Ankeny Police Chief Darius Potts, and Newton Police Chief and President of the Iowa Police Chiefs Association Rob Burdess while announcing her new legislation at the Altoona Police Department.
“All across central and southwest Iowa, our law enforcement officers go to work every single day to protect Iowans and help keep our communities safe. These officers deserve the same access to federal grants as the officers in big cities, but there’s no dedicated way for our federal support to reach officers in our rural areas,” said Rep. Axne. “Our bill will change that by giving rural Iowa a crucial leg up in getting the resources it needs to support its police officers. As the Co-Chair of the Rural Reinvestment Task Force and a steadfast supporter of our first responders, I’m proud to help introduce this legislation today.”
“The Invest to Protect Act of 2022 helps to even the playing field and provide the resources our departments and officers need,” said Newton Police Chief and President of the Iowa Police Chiefs Association Rob Burdess. “With this legislation, we will no longer be competing with the large metro areas that don’t represent all Iowa law enforcement agencies. This legislation will help Iowa chiefs and sheriffs to put more cops on the street, fund overtime, and offer retention bonuses to keep officers within our communities.”
“I’ve got some first-hand knowledge – we are the largest sheriff’s office in the state and we still qualify for this,” said Polk County Sheriff Kevin Schneider. “That shows you we don’t stand a chance against some of the largest agencies around the country.”
Background:
Currently, two of the largest Department of Justice grant programs are open to all police departments and sheriff’s offices across the U.S., pitting smaller police departments against the largest metropolitan areas when applying for funding. Between 2012 and 2018, law enforcement agencies from South Dakota, Oklahoma, Utah, Iowa, and Montana applied for a total of 577 Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) grants, but less than a third of those applications were approved.
In 2021, Iowa law enforcement departments received 9 COPS grants compared to California’s 41, roughly 350% more funding overall.
The Invest to Protect Act would establish a grant program for local police departments to with fewer than 200 police officers, which would include all but the very largest law enforcement departments in Iowa.
Grants would be available to police and sheriff’s departments with fewer than 200 officers for a variety of investments, including:
- Safety, de-escalation, domestic violence response, and other types of training
- Officer recruitment and retention, including signing and retention bonuses
- Mental health resources for officers
- Body cameras, secure storage, and other equipment
- Overtime and personnel costs
Additionally, the legislation will cut red tape by reducing overly bureaucratic reporting requirements of metrics that often do not apply to small and rural areas.
Administrative, management, and reporting requirements that rural law enforcement leaders have reported as difficult and cumbersome to keep up with often lead to police departments being unable to apply because the grants are not designed with the realities of their work.
The bipartisan legislation is endorsed by the National Fraternal Order of Police, National Association of Police Organizations, National Sheriffs’ Association, and National Troopers Coalition.
The legislation was officially introduced in the U.S. House last month by Reps. Josh Gottheimer (NJ-05), John Rutherford (FL-04), Axne, and 35 other co-sponsors from both sides of the aisle.
source: https://axne.house.gov/media/press-releases/rep-axne-highlights-new-bipartisan-bill-boosting-resource-law-enforcement
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