H.R. 6448, the “Invest to Protect Act of 2022,” would direct the Department of Justice’s office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) to award grants to county, municipal, town, village, and tribal governments that employ “fewer than 125 law enforcement officers.” The grants are intended to fund “de-escalation training for law enforcement officers” to “minimize the need for the use of force,” overtime costs, and signing and retention bonuses, among other activities. The bill would appropriate $60,000,000 for each year from 2023 through 2027.
The House passed H.R. 6448 on September 22, 2022 by a vote of 360 to 64 (Roll Call 451). We have assigned pluses to the nays because this bill undermines the local control and independence of police. The strings that come attached to such grants move the United States closer to nationalizing police — making police subordinate to federal stipulations, guidelines, and control — rather than preserving local police that are independent of the federal government. Furthermore, Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution makes no provision for federal grants, training, or guidelines for local law enforcement.
