Representative Angie Craig Introduces Bipartisan Legislation to Increase Funding for Local Police Departments

WASHINGTON, DC — Today, U.S. Representative Angie Craig helped introduce the Invest to Protect Act of 2022, a bipartisan bill to provide $50 million in grants for small and mid-sized police departments to invest in training, equipment, personnel support, and mental health resources. Police departments with forces of 200 officers or less – which represent more than 95% of police departments including every department in Minnesota's Second District – would be eligible to apply for grants under the legislation. The bipartisan legislation, which Craig introduced alongside 21 Democratic and 17 Republican House members, has been officially endorsed by the Fraternal Order of Police, National Association of Police Organizations, National Sheriffs' Association and the National Troopers Coalition.

"Local law enforcement officers put their lives on the line to protect and serve their communities – oftentimes working on strained budgets without the equipment and training they need to reduce crime and keep Minnesotans safe," said Congresswoman Craig. "It's long past time that Congress stepped up and enacted legislation to ensure our smaller and mid-size police departments have the resources necessary to do their jobs safely and effectively. I'm proud to work with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to introduce the Invest to Protect Act, which will deliver commonsense solutions to build safer, more secure communities."

"Over the last year, law enforcement officers have faced many challenges and threats to their well-being that has created a dangerous environment for those sworn to protect the public," said Patrick Yoes, National President of the Fraternal Order of Police. "These challenges have ranged from violence against officers, an increase of violent rhetoric against them, lagging technology, recruitment and retention issues, and mental health concerns. Particularly, smaller municipalities have seen an increased strain on the men and women in blue as they attempt to uphold the rule of law. The ‘Invest to Protect Act' would be a step in the right direction to combat these issues that plague law enforcement officers in smaller municipalities. On behalf of the more than 364,000 members of the Fraternal Order of Police, I am proud to offer our support for this incredibly necessary legislation."

The Invest to Protect Act will provide funding for the following investments in small and mid-sized police departments:

1. Investments in officer safety, de-escalation, and domestic violence response training, allowing officers to receive critical training that will make them more effective at their jobs, all without putting a strain on department budgets or reducing the number of officers on duty while others are at training by allowing investment to be used to offset overtime pay.
2. Investment for body worn cameras — to hold everyone accountable — while also providing much-needed resources for data storage and data security.
3. Investment for small departments to recruit new officers — helping expand departments and bringing in new, good officers. This investment can also be used by departments to provide retention bonuses to help keep their existing officers and provide investment for officers pursuing graduate degrees in public health, social work, and mental health.
4. Investment for departments to provide mental health resources for their officers.

The full bill text of the Invest to Protect Act can be found here.

###