This bill would require the Attorney General to create a grant program in the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS). The grants would go to State, Tribal, and local law enforcement agencies to fund projects that aim to improve clearance rates for homicides and firearm-related violent crimes. The Attorney General must set up the program within 180 days of enactment. Eligible projects include hiring and training investigators and forensic staff, buying or upgrading investigative and forensic equipment, developing evidence-based programs, analyzing violent crime trends, providing victim services, trauma-informed interview training, and creating policies to protect civil rights. Grant recipients must make funds supplement, not replace, other funding. Recipients must check applicant hiring records against national decertification databases when hiring officers. Recipients must report annually on staffing, training, technology purchases, clearance-rate data, victim and suspect demographics, and investigation outcomes. The Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General will audit recipients, and unresolved audit findings can bar future grants. The National Institute of Justice must evaluate practices every two years and the Attorney General must report results to Congress. The Attorney General must also produce a plan, within 60 days, to make the grant application process completable in about 2 hours and offer technical help. The bill authorizes $60,000,000 per year for fiscal years 2027–2031 and requires at least 5% of annual funds be used for Tribal entities and at least 5% for rural agencies.
No publicly available information.
No publicly available information.