Legislation to protect police departments ‘will provide much needed support’

Invest to Protect Act was introduced in 2022 and passed the U.S. House later that year, but did not make it to the president’s desk.

The legislation is led by U.S. Reps. Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey and John Rutherford of Florida, who is a former sheriff. Companion legislation is led in the U.S. Senate by U.S. Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada and Chuck Grassley of Iowa.

Virginia’s U.S. Rep. Abigail Spanberger supports the legislation to make sure police officers in smaller communities and rural areas have the resources, recruiting tools and training they need to keep themselves and their communities safe.

“The men and women of local law enforcement who keep our communities safe deserve the support necessary to do their jobs. As a former federal law enforcement officer and daughter of a career law enforcement officer, I’m deeply grateful for the officers who work each day to protect their neighbors,” Spanberger said. “I’m proud to once again back the Invest to Protect Act to help all of our local police departments — like many I represent in smaller, more rural communities — keep their officers and our neighbors safe. By providing these police departments with long overdue investments in training, retention bonuses, recruitment resources, and mental health services, this bipartisan bill recognizes the wide array of challenges faced by those who put on the badge and helps provide the support they deserve for their service.”

The legislation has the support of Virginia law enforcement departments, like the Culpeper Police Department.

“This bipartisan legislation will provide much needed support in continuing to keep our small to mid-sized towns, like Culpeper, safe across America,” Culpeper Police Chief Chris Settle said. “I am pleased this legislation will continue to invest in the recruitment and retention of qualified police officers, but more importantly, focus on mental health resources for our current police officers.”

The bill would invest in officer safety, de-escalation and domestic violence response training to allow officers to receive critical training that will make them more effective at their jobs and not put a strain on department budgets. Grants would be provided to recruit new officers for small departments and provide retention bonuses.

Invest to Protect Act would also provide mental health resources for police officers.