Dear Senators Brown and Tillis,
I am writing on behalf of the members of the Fraternal Order of Police to advise you of our support for S. 4847, the “Law Enforcement Scenario-Based Training for Safety and De-Escalation Act.”
Law enforcement officers face a variety of challenges while on the job, from recognizing and responding appropriately to behavioral health crises to implementing community policing models. It is thus imperative that officers have access to the most comprehensive and updated training available.
This legislation would authorize the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) to make grants available to State, local and tribal law enforcement agencies to provide law enforcement personnel access to an immersive, real-life, scenario-based training curriculum in order to improve community-police relations, as well as officer safety and resilience. This kind of scenario-based training will also improve an officer’s critical decision-making, problem-solving, and crisis intervention skills. Many of these programs also emphasize de-escalation. We believe that wider access to this type of training will benefit our officers and the communities they serve.
On behalf of the more than 364,000 members of the Fraternal Order of Police, I am proud to offer our support for this legislation. If I can be of any further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact me or Executive Director Jim Pasco in our Washington, D.C. office.
Sincerely,
Patrick Yoes
National President