Providing Officer Licensing to Increase Confidence for Everyone Act or the POLICE Act
This bill establishes licensing requirements for federal law enforcement officers and reduces the amount of certain law enforcement-related grants for states that do not adopt similar requirements.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) shall, within one year of the bill's enactment, develop and issue licensing standards for law enforcement officers based on law enforcement best practices. Such standards shall be reviewed and updated every five years.
Within three years of this bill's enactment, each federal law enforcement officer shall be licensed under such standards. Each officer must also take continuing education classes as may be required by DOJ.
Within three years of this bill's enactment, each state shall establish (1) a licensing system that complies with DOJ licensing standards, and (2) a continuing education program substantially similar to the program for federal law enforcement officers. If a state fails to meet these requirements for a fiscal year, certain law enforcement-related grants that the state would have otherwise received shall be reduced by half.