CONGRESSMAN BISHOP SUPPORTS PUBLIC SAFETY BILLS THAT HELP COPS, REDUCE VIOLENCE
Press Release
Today, Congressman Sanford D. Bishop, Jr. (GA-02) supported four bills that were passed by the U.S. House of Representatives today with bipartisan support. Each bill addresses an aspect of law enforcement -- resources to recruit and retain officers, improve conflict resolution, solve long-standing unresolved cases, and engage mental health professionals to help settle situations when officers confront a crisis involving mental health problems.
"Our law enforcement officers need resources that will help fight crime, reduce violence, and bring in professional support that will help them better resolve situations where a mental health crisis is involved," said Congressman Bishop. "We ask a lot of our emergency responders and we are working in Congress through these bills to provide the support they need to recruit and retain officers, improve ways to peacefully resolve situations, and solve long-open cases so that communities can get justice."
Earlier this week, Congressman Bishop sent a letter to U.S. House Democratic leaders that urged them to take up these bills. The bills voted on today were:
H.R 4118, the Break the Cycle of Violence Act, would create grant programs through the Department of Health and Human Services to establish and/or support effective, evidence-based community violence intervention programs.
H.R. 6448, the Invest to Protect Act, would establish a grant through the Department of Justice's Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) program to help small law enforcement agencies fund training, mental health support, recruitment, and retention.
H.R. 5768, the VICTIM Act, would support the establishment of new programs through grant funding to law enforcement agencies and prosecuting offices to investigate and and solve unresolved cases relating to homicides, rapes, sexual assaults, kidnappings, and non-fatal shootings.
H.R. 8542, the Mental Health Justice Act, would invest in mental health response teams through a Department of Health and Human Services grant program to send mental health professionals instead of police officers to certain types of mental health emergencies.
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