JOINT RELEASE: Signed! Bipartisan Community Safety Investment Act
SB22-145 establishes critical crime prevention programs, addresses workforce shortages in law enforcement
DENVER, CO - Governor Jared Polis today signed into law critical legislation to improve public safety and address the underlying causes of crime. The bipartisan legislation will expand recruitment, retention, and training of a high-quality workforce to support proven crime prevention and intervention strategies and ensure law enforcement better reflects the communities they serve.
SB22-145, the Community Safety Investment Act, is sponsored by Senator Janet Buckner, D-Aurora, Senator John Cooke, R-Greeley, and Representative Alex Valdez, D-Denver.
“Every Coloradan deserves to feel safe in their community, but like the rest of the country, crime has been on the rise here in Colorado, which is why we’re taking action,” Buckner said. “This new law will provide critical resources to help communities cut down on crime, address law enforcement workforce shortages, and get folks in crisis the help they need to prevent crime from occurring in the first place. I am proud to champion this common sense legislation, and I look forward to reducing crime and creating a safer Colorado for us all.”
"The Community Safety Investment Act tackles crime in Colorado through prevention programs that have a proven record of success," said Valdez "Working together with law enforcement, local governments and community leaders, we're implementing co-responder models and violence interruption programs to prevent crime before it happens and reduce recidivism. This law also provides significant resources to recruit, train and retain a diverse law enforcement workforce that reflects the communities they serve.”
"Crime in our state has been rising at an unprecedented rate over the past few years,” Cooke said. "Part of our Commitment to Colorado is to prioritize public safety and ensure our law enforcement agencies have the resources they need to keep our communities safe. This common-sense legislation will provide much-needed resources to root out crime at its source and implement data-driven strategies to prevent it. Through these grant programs, agencies will be able to improve their curriculums, increase officer retention, and, through the SMART Policing grant program, recruit officers that are more representative of the communities they serve. I am very happy to see this legislation signed into law.”
Research shows that crime prevention strategies that include collaboration between communities and local law enforcement are most effective. The Community Safety Investment Act will create three grant programs within the Colorado Department of Public Safety (CDPS):
The first grant program will provide $15 million over two years to community-based organizations and local law enforcement agencies to implement collaborative, data-driven intervention strategies such as co-responder programs, violence interrupter programs, early intervention teams, and restorative justice services in identified high-crime areas.
The second grant program will provide law enforcement agencies with $7.5 million over two years to help recruit and retain staff, as well as improve training curriculums, including mental health training.
The third grant program - the State’s Mission for Assistance in Recruitment and Training (SMART) policing grant - will provide $7.5 million over two years to help local law enforcement agencies recruit and train officers that better represent the communities they serve.
The Community Safety Investment Act also establishes a front-end stakeholder crime prevention forum, and provides funding for oversight and administration within the CDPS, which will administer the grant programs.