Law Enforcement De-Escalation Training Act of 2022

Floor Speech

Mr. Speaker, S. 4003 creates a new Federal grant program to provide training for law enforcement officers on de-escalation techniques, participation in crisis intervention teams, making referrals to community-based service providers, safely responding to individuals in a behavioral or mental health crisis, and alternatives to use of force.

It requires the Department of Justice to develop training curriculum in collaboration with mental health providers, law enforcement agencies, civil rights organizations, and other stakeholders.

It also authorizes $133 million in new money over the next 4 years with no offsets.

There are several problems with this legislation.

First, the COPS Office at the Justice Department currently funds programs that already do what this bill purports to support. For instance, the COPS Office funds the Community Policing Development De- Escalation Training Program through two different mechanisms.

Through one mechanism, the COPS Office provides $3 million over the next 2 years for the expansion of a network of regional centers to provide nationally certified de-escalation training opportunities for law enforcement. The other mechanism, law enforcement agency de- escalation grants, provides nearly $12 million in grant funding over the next 2 years to support whole agency de-escalation, implicit bias, and duty-to-intervene training efforts.

These programs are appropriated and up and running as we speak. We should not be creating new programs that are duplicative of current programs without at least examining the efficacy of the currently funded programs.

Second, this legislation represents a departure from traditional law enforcement techniques, one that advances a soft-on-crime approach. In recent years, these kinds of approaches to fighting crime have been a boon to criminals and have led to our current crime epidemic.

We need to seriously address the crime epidemic, not fund duplicative programs that would keep cops in cars.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to oppose this legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. TIFFANY. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to oppose this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. TIFFANY. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

The yeas and nays were ordered.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source