Retired Law Enforcement Officers Continuing Service Act

Grants to hire retired officers

This bill would create a new grant program for State, local, Tribal, and territorial law enforcement agencies to hire retired officers. Grants would pay retirees to train civilian staff and to perform listed civilian tasks, such as homicide and carjacking investigations, financial-crime investigations, camera review, crime-scene and forensics analysis, and IT or network expertise. Retirees hired with grant funds would not have authority to arrest or use force. The bill would require grantees to check disciplinary records before hiring and to certify training or continuing education. The DOJ Inspector General would begin annual audits the first fiscal year after enactment; an audit finding not resolved within 12 months would make a grantee ineligible for grants for the next two fiscal years. The Attorney General would have to avoid duplicative grants and prioritize applicants without recent unresolved audit findings.