Today, Rep. Cindy Axne (IA-03) voted for four bipartisan bills aimed at providing Iowa’s local law enforcement agencies with the resources and tools they need to boost recruitment, retention and training to better curb violence and support crime victims.

The bills include the Invest to Protect Act, which Rep. Axne helped introduce in January 2022 and has repeatedly pushed for its passage. The legislation would create a new grant program for police departments with fewer than 125 officers, which includes all but the very largest law enforcement departments in Iowa.

“I have been fighting to secure the resources and tools that law enforcement agencies across central and southwest Iowa need to keep their communities safe and I’m pleased to see the House pass this important legislation,” said Rep. Axne. “Throughout my district, police chiefs have told me about the challenges they face in having the resources necessary to protect our communities. Right now, there’s no dedicated way for our federal support to reach officers in our rural areas. This legislation will change that to ensure Iowa’s police departments get the resources they need to recruit, retain and better train their officers in order to keep everyone safe.”

The Invest to Protect Act would:

• Provide grants to law enforcement agencies with fewer than 125 officers to fund training, access to mental health resources, recruitment, and retention.
• Allow DOJ to give preference to agencies applying for funds for de-escalation training.
• Require DOJ to evaluate barriers in the application process and create a streamlined application that takes no more than 2 hours.
• Require disclosure of the use of grant funds for signing or retention bonuses.
• Allow DOJ to audit any grantees to ensure funds are used appropriately.

“These bipartisan bills go beyond the usual funding of law enforcement to ensure more police departments have the resources they need to help victims of crimes and folks who are dealing with mental health crises,” Rep. Axne said. “These bills help equip officers to better respond to different situations and provide tools to help police departments strengthen trust in their communities.”

Also included in the package of bills the House passed were the Break the Cycle of Violence Act, Our Mental Health Justice Act, and the VICTIM Act.

The VICTIM Act, which Rep. Axne helped introduce, would bolster the ability of police forces to solve homicides, sexual assaults, shootings and other violent crimes by providing grants for victim services and hiring and retaining detectives.

The Break the Cycle of Violence Act would create grant programs to establish or support effective, evidence-based community violence intervention programs.

The Our Mental Health Justice Act would help send unarmed mental health professionals to respond to mental health crises in neighborhoods: crucial action to save lives from potentially fatal encounters with armed police officers.

Original source can be found here.