To provide reliable officers, technology, education, community prosecutors, and training in our neighborhoods.

May 22, 2001

Mr. BIDEN (for himself, Mr. AKAKA, Mr. BAUCUS, Mr. BAYH, Mr. BINGAMAN, Mrs. BOXER, Mr. BREAUX, Mr. BYRD, Ms. CANTWELL, Mrs. CARNAHAN, Mr. CARPER, Mr. CLELAND, Mrs. CLINTON, Ms. COLLINS, Mr. CORZINE, Mr. DASCHLE, Mr. DAYTON, Mr. DODD, Mr. DORGAN, Mr. DURBIN, Mr. EDWARDS, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Mr. GRAHAM, Mr. HARKIN, Mr. HOLLINGS, Mr. INOUYE, Mr. JEFFORDS, Mr. JOHNSON, Mr. KENNEDY, Mr. KERRY, Mr. KOHL, Ms. LANDRIEU, Mr. LEAHY, Mr. LEVIN, Mr. LIEBERMAN, Mrs. LINCOLN, Ms. MIKULSKI, Mrs. MURRAY, Mr. NELSON of Florida, Mr. NELSON of Nebraska, Mr. REED, Mr. REID, Mr. ROCKEFELLER, Mr. SARBANES, Mr. SCHUMER, Ms. SNOWE, Mr. SPECTER, Ms. STABENOW, Mr. TORRICELLI, and Mr. WELLSTONE) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

To provide reliable officers, technology, education, community prosecutors, and training in our neighborhoods.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the `Providing Reliable Officers, Technology, Education, Community Prosecutors, and Training In Our Neighborhoods Act of 2001' or `PROTECTION Act'.

SEC. 2. PROVIDING RELIABLE OFFICERS, TECHNOLOGY, EDUCATION, COMMUNITY PROSECUTORS, AND TRAINING IN OUR NEIGHBORHOOD INITIATIVE.

(a) COPS PROGRAM- Section 1701(a) of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3796dd(a)) is amended by--

(1) inserting `and prosecutor' after `increase police'; and

(2) inserting `to enhance law enforcement access to new technologies, and' after `presence,'.

(b) HIRING AND REDEPLOYMENT GRANT PROJECTS- Section 1701(b) of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3796dd(b)) is amended--

(1) in paragraph (1)--

(A) in subparagraph (B)--

(i) by inserting after `Nation' the following: `, or pay overtime to existing career law enforcement officers to the extent that such overtime is devoted to community policing efforts'; and

(ii) by striking `and' at the end;

(B) in subparagraph (C), by--

(i) striking `or pay overtime'; and

(ii) striking the period at the end and inserting `; and'; and

(C) by adding at the end the following:

`(D) promote higher education among in-service State and local law enforcement officers by reimbursing them for the costs associated with seeking a college or graduate school education.'; and

(2) in paragraph (2) by striking all that follows SUPPORT SYSTEMS- ' and inserting `Grants pursuant to--

`(A) paragraph (1)(B) for overtime may not exceed 25 percent of the funds available for grants pursuant to this subsection for any fiscal year;

`(B) paragraph (1)(C) may not exceed 20 percent of the funds available for grants pursuant to this subsection in any fiscal year; and

`(C) paragraph (1)(D) may not exceed 5 percent of the funds available for grants pursuant to this subsection for any fiscal year.'.

(c) ADDITIONAL GRANT PROJECTS- Section 1701(d) of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3796dd(d)) is amended--

(1) in paragraph (2)--

(A) by inserting `integrity and ethics' after `specialized'; and

(B) by inserting `and' after `enforcement officers';

(2) in paragraph (7) by inserting `school officials, religiously-affiliated organizations,' after `enforcement officers';

(3) by striking paragraph (8) and inserting the following:

`(8) establish school-based partnerships between local law enforcement agencies and local school systems, by using school resource officers who operate in and around elementary and secondary schools to serve as a law enforcement liaison with other Federal, State, and local law enforcement and regulatory agencies, combat school-related crime and disorder problems, gang membership and criminal activity, firearms and explosives-related incidents, illegal use and possession of alcohol, and the illegal possession, use, and distribution of drugs;';

(4) in paragraph (10) by striking `and' at the end;

(5) in paragraph (11) by striking the period that appears at the end and inserting `; and'; and

(6) by adding at the end the following:

`(12) develop and implement innovative programs (such as the TRIAD program) that bring together a community's sheriff, chief of police, and elderly residents to address the public safety concerns of older citizens.'.

(d) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE- Section 1701(f) of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3796dd(f)) is amended--

(1) in paragraph (1)--

(A) by inserting `use up to 5 percent of the funds appropriated under subsection (a) to' after `The Attorney General may';

(B) by inserting at the end the following: `In addition, the Attorney General may use up to 5 percent of the funds appropriated under subsections (d), (e), and (f) for technical assistance and training to States, units of local government, Indian tribal governments, and to other public and private entities for those respective purposes.';

(2) in paragraph (2) by inserting `under subsection (a)' after `the Attorney General'; and

(3) in paragraph (3)--

(A) by striking `the Attorney General may' and inserting `the Attorney General shall';

(B) by inserting `regional community policing institutes' after `operation of'; and

(C) by inserting `representatives of police labor and management organizations, community residents,' after `supervisors,'.

(e) TECHNOLOGY AND PROSECUTION PROGRAMS- Section 1701 of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3796dd) is amended by--

(1) striking subsection (k);

(2) redesignating subsections (f) through (j) as subsections (g) through (k); and

(3) striking subsection (e) and inserting the following:

`(e) LAW ENFORCEMENT TECHNOLOGY PROGRAM- Grants made under subsection (a) may be used to assist police departments, in employing professional, scientific, and technological advancements that will help them--

`(1) improve police communications through the use of wireless communications, computers, software, videocams, databases and other hardware and software that allow law enforcement agencies to communicate more effectively across jurisdictional boundaries and effectuate interoperability;

`(2) develop and improve access to crime solving technologies, including DNA analysis, photo enhancement, voice recognition, and other forensic capabilities; and

`(3) promote comprehensive crime analysis by utilizing new techniques and technologies, such as crime mapping, that allow law enforcement agencies to use real-time crime and arrest data and other related information--including non-criminal justice data--to improve their ability to analyze, predict, and respond pro-actively to local crime and disorder problems, as well as to engage in regional crime analysis.

`(f) COMMUNITY-BASED PROSECUTION PROGRAM- Grants made under subsection (a) may be used to assist State, local or tribal prosecutors' offices in the implementation of community-based prosecution programs that build on local community policing efforts. Funds made available under this subsection may be used to--

`(1) hire additional prosecutors who will be assigned to community prosecution programs, including programs that assign prosecutors to handle cases from specific geographic areas, to address specific violent crime and other local crime problems (including intensive illegal gang, gun and drug enforcement projects and quality of life initiatives), and to address localized violent and other crime problems based on needs identified by local law enforcement agencies, community organizations, and others;

`(2) redeploy existing prosecutors to community prosecution programs as described in paragraph (1) of this section by hiring victim and witness coordinators, paralegals, community outreach, and other such personnel; and

`(3) establish programs to assist local prosecutors' offices in the implementation of programs that help them identify and respond to priority crime problems in a community with specifically tailored solutions.

At least 75 percent of the funds made available under this subsection shall be reserved for grants under paragraphs (1) and (2) and of those amounts no more than 10 percent may be used for grants under paragraph (2) and at least 25 percent of the funds shall be reserved for grants under paragraphs (1) and (2) to units of local government with a population of less than 50,000.'.

(f) RETENTION GRANTS- Section 1703 of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3796dd-2) is amended by inserting at the end the following:

`(d) RETENTION GRANTS- The Attorney General may use no more than 50 percent of the funds under subsection (a) to award grants targeted specifically for retention of police officers to grantees in good standing, with preference to those that demonstrate financial hardship or severe budget constraint that impacts the entire local budget and may result in the termination of employment for police officers funded under subsection (b)(1).'.

(g) DEFINITIONS-

(1) CAREER LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER- Section 1709(1) of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3796dd-8) is amended by inserting after `criminal laws' the following: `including sheriffs deputies charged with supervising offenders who are released into the community but also engaged in local community policing efforts.'.

(2) SCHOOL RESOURCE OFFICER- Section 1709(4) of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control

and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3796dd-8) is amended--

(A) by striking subparagraph (A) and inserting the following:

`(A) to serve as a law enforcement liaison with other Federal, State, and local law enforcement and regulatory agencies, to address and document crime and disorder problems including gangs and drug activities, firearms and explosives-related incidents, and the illegal use and possession of alcohol affecting or occurring in or around an elementary or secondary school;';

(B) by striking subparagraph (E) and inserting the following:

`(E) to train students in conflict resolution, restorative justice, and crime awareness, and to provide assistance to and coordinate with other officers, mental health professionals, and youth counselors who are responsible for the implementation of prevention/intervention programs within the schools;'; and

(C) by adding at the end the following:

`(H) to work with school administrators, members of the local parent teacher associations, community organizers, law enforcement, fire departments, and emergency medical personnel in the creation, review, and implementation of a school violence prevention plan;

`(I) to assist in documenting the full description of all firearms found or taken into custody on school property and to initiate a firearms trace and ballistics examination for each firearm with the local office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms;

`(J) to document the full description of all explosives or explosive devices found or taken into custody on school property and report to the local office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms; and

`(K) to assist school administrators with the preparation of the Department of Education, Annual Report on State Implementation of the Gun-Free Schools Act which tracks the number of students expelled per year for bringing a weapon, firearm, or explosive to school.'.

(h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS- Section 1001(a)(11) of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3793(a)(11)) is amended--

(1) by amending subparagraph (A) to read as follows:

`(A) There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out part Q, to remain available until expended--

`(i) $1,150,000,000 for fiscal year 2002;

`(ii) $1,150,000,000 for fiscal year 2003;

`(iii) $1,150,000,000 for fiscal year 2004;

`(iv) $1,150,000,000 for fiscal year 2005;

`(v) $1,150,000,000 for fiscal year 2006; and

`(vi) $1,150,000,000 for fiscal year 2007.'; and

(2) in subparagraph (B)--

(A) by striking `3 percent' and inserting `5 percent';

(B) by striking `1701(f)' and inserting `1701(g)';

(C) by striking the second sentence and inserting `Of the remaining funds, if there is a demand for 50 percent of appropriated hiring funds, as determined by eligible hiring applications from law enforcement agencies having jurisdiction over areas with populations exceeding 150,000, no less than 50 percent shall be allocated for grants pursuant to applications submitted by units of local government or law enforcement agencies having jurisdiction over areas with populations exceeding 150,000 or by public and private entities that serve areas with populations exceeding 150,000, and no less than 50 percent shall be allocated for grants pursuant to applications submitted by units of local government or law enforcement agencies having jurisdiction over areas with populations less than 150,000 or by public and private entities that serve areas with populations less than 150,000.';

(D) by striking `85 percent' and inserting `$600,000,000'; and

(E) by striking `1701(b),' and all that follows through `of part Q' and inserting the following: `1701 (b) and (c), $350,000,000 to grants for the purposes specified in section 1701(e), and $200,000,000 to grants for the purposes specified in section 1701(f).'.

END