State Police Inclusion in Future Federal Hiring Programs Submitted by Division of State and Provincial Police

SP.020.a09

WHEREAS, state police and highway patrol agencies play an integral and essential role in our efforts to protect our citizens and establish safer communities; and

WHEREAS, in addition to providing traditional law enforcement functions and answering calls for service throughout their states, these agencies also serve as the primary providers or the sole sources for such specialized services as emergency management, government security and executive protection, marine, aviation, canine, SWAT, explosive detection, and urban search and rescue units; and

WHEREAS, like their local counterparts, state police and highway patrol agencies are operating in an extremely challenging budgetary environment; and

WHEREAS, state budget reductions have resulted in the inability of many agencies to fill current and future vacancies at a time when state police and highway patrol agencies are being tasked with greater responsibility for issues including homeland security; and

WHEREAS, the International Association of Chiefs of Polices Division of State and Provincial Police applauds the efforts of the federal government to provide hiring funding for law enforcement through programs such as the COPS Hiring Recovery Program (CHRP); and

WHEREAS, we understand that the limited resources available to the CHRP made difficult choices necessary, the S&P is very troubled by the total exclusion of all state police agencies from the list of grant recipients; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, that the International Association of Chiefs of Polices Division of State and Provincial Police is resolute in its position that all federal hiring programs ensure that state police and highway patrol agencies are eligible participants, receiving full consideration, and that award evaluation criteria is inclusive of all law enforcement.