Funding for Police and Law Enforcement Agencies

President Joe Biden used his State of the Union speech to make clear that his vision of police reform includes more funding — not defunding — of police departments and law enforcement agencies.

This was a long, long time coming.

To some this announcement came out of nowhere. However, for police departments and law enforcement agencies this news is long overdue.

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Given the amount of money at stake and the potential for misuse, it is understandable that we would want to make sure those funds actually do what they say on the tin. However, it is far more likely that those promises will be broken than kept.

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"We should all agree the answer is not to defund the police.

It’s to fund the police. Fund them. Fund them. Fund them with the resources and training — resources and training they need to protect our communities.

I ask Democrats and Republicans alike to pass my budget and keep our neighborhoods safe."

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--- President Joe Biden during his 2022 State of the Union Speech

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President Biden's Plan to Fund the Police

If you're a police officer or a law enforcement official, we are not sure what to say. Although we don't know the exact details of the plan, here's what we can hope for.

The problem with Biden’s pitch/proposal is that it’s still not clear how much will be allocated and how soon the funds will be allocated and distributed. If any part of this proposed plan to fund the police becomes reality, we are sure the law enforcement community would benefit greatly from it.

Since we do not know the exact dollar amount yet, it's hard to comment on the effect President Biden's proposed funding for law enforcement will have on local communities. Let's say he announces $100M to law enforcement agencies, yes, This sounds good on the surface, but doesn't cover all of the cost of policing agencies, including:

• Payment for personnel — especially officers — and other costs associated with providing public safety (e.g., overtime).
• Payroll expenses
• Training & education expenses (for police officers)
• Research and planning costs
• Equipment costs
• And much more

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Conclusion

At the end of the day local law enforcement agencies are funded by their community, but they're also largely funded by the federal government and grants provided by the federal government. In a time when funding is so tight for many police agencies, there is no better time than now to take action in support of these peace officers.