Senator Reverend Warnock’s legislation, the Invest to Protect Act, will invest in training, equipment, mental health support, officer recruitment and retention to support small law enforcement agencies in Georgia and across the country
This bill makes critical investments to increase officer safety, fund de-escalation and domestic violence training, purchase body worn cameras and more
Senator Reverend Warnock: “I’m thrilled to see my bipartisan legislation to keep Georgia families safe unanimously pass the Senate. The Invest to Protect Act will direct much-needed federal support to some of the local law enforcement agencies in Georgia and around our nation who are most in need, strengthening public safety and investing in our police officers’ mental, physical, and emotional wellbeing”
The Invest to Protect Act earned the support of the Burke County and Screven County Sheriffs’ Offices, as well as the Peace Officers Association of Georgia and the Fraternal Order of Police
Washington, D.C. — This week, U.S. Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock’s (D-GA) bill to provide $250 million over the next five years to support small law enforcement agencies in Georgia and across the country unanimously passed the Senate. The Invest to Protect Act will make critical, targeted investments in local police departments and ensure that police officers in smaller communities in Georgia and across the country have the resources and training they need to keep themselves and their communities safe. This funding will invest in officer safety, de-escalation and domestic violence response training, recruitment, retention, and mental health resources.
“Communities all across Georgia rely on our law enforcement officers every day, but our smallest communities often have the hardest time getting the support they need to attract and train officers, and securing the resources they need to serve,” said Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock.“I’m thrilled to see my bipartisan legislation to keep Georgia families safe unanimously pass the Senate. The Invest to Protect Act will direct much-needed federal support to some of the local law enforcement agencies in Georgia and around our nation who are most in need, strengthening public safety and investing in our police officers’ mental, physical, and emotional wellbeing.”
Over 90% of all police departments nationally have fewer than 200 full-time officers. In Georgia and across the country, these small departments often struggle to compete with larger ones for access to critical resources. The Invest to Protect Act will establish a grant through the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) program to provide $50 million per year for five years specifically to help local law enforcement agencies with fewer than 200 officers make meaningful investments in their officers and communities. The bill also requires a streamlined grant application process so that small agencies without dedicated grant-writing staff can access the funding.
The Invest to Protect Act earned the support of the Burke County and Screven County Sheriffs’ Offices, as well as the Fraternal Order of Police, the National Sheriffs’ Association and the Peace Officers’ Association of Georgia.
The Invest to Protect Act builds on Senator Warnock’s steadfast support for Georgia’s law enforcement officers and agencies. In May, Senator Warnock cosponsored and passed a resolution in honor of National Police Week, honoring the law enforcement officers who were killed in the line of duty in 2021. Senator Warnock also helped to secure $3.9 billion in funding for local and state law enforcement and communities in the annual government funding bill, which is an increase of roughly $500 million above the previous year’s enacted spending. Additionally, Senator Warnock requested strong funding for the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) program in the package, which provides funds to local police departments to hire additional officers for community policing and supports other initiatives related to community policing; the funding bill provides $512 million for this program, more than $126 million than last year—an increase of nearly 33%.
Read the full bill text here.