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Harder Pushes For Local Law Enforcement Funding
CONGRESSMAN JOSH HARDER
Congressman Josh Harder

This week, Representative Josh Harder (CA-9) recognized National Police Week by introducing legislation to bring more money home to combat police hiring shortages. Rep. Harder introduced the bipartisan Invest to Protect Act, which creates a grant program for small and midsize police departments for recruitment, retention, and training. Hiring shortages are a massive issue for police departments in Northern California with many departments significantly below safe staffing levels.

In 2021 alone, California law enforcement agencies lost 2,100 sworn officers and about 1,100 civilian staff. In Stockton, for example, the police department is short 120 officers, meaning the city has been unable to fill 25 percent of open positions on its police force.

“Thank you to the police officers … who put everything on the line to protect our families,” said Rep. Harder. “Police Week should not just be about nice words however – it needs to be about action as well. I’m proud to introduce the Invest to Protect Act to make sure our local police departments have the funding and the officers they need to keep us safe. Let’s get this done.”

Police departments saw 47 percent more resignations and nearly 20 percent more retirements in 2022 compared to 2019. There has been a sharp decline in the number of applicants to police academies.

According to a recent study, the rate of PTSD among police officers increased by nearly 30 percent from January 2020 to April 2021.

In California, the number of patrol officers per 100,000 residents is the lowest since at least 1991.

In addition to the Invest to Protect Act, Rep. Harder has a strong history of working to make sure Central Valley police departments have the resources they need to protect communities and to do so safely. Rep. Harder also co-sponsored the bipartisan Protect and Serve Act to strengthen federal penalties for anyone who targets law enforcement officers. This summer, he will be reintroducing his bipartisan bill to partner mental health professionals with police to help respond to mental health crises.