Michigan Democratic U.S. Sen. Gary Peters has introduced legislation in the Republican-controlled Senate aiming to boost trust between police and the neighborhoods they …
Michigan Democratic U. S. Sen. Gary Peters has introduced legislation in the Republican-controlled Senate aiming to boost trust between police and the neighborhoods they serve by encouraging law enforcement officers to work in the community where they live.
The measure, co-sponsored by Republican Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, is an effort to help departments struggling to attract and retain recruits who intimately understand their community and who reflect the racial and ethnic diversity of the neighborhood they police.
In the late 1990s, Michigan banned local governments and other public employers from imposing residency requirements on their employees. The Peters‘ proposal would give a financial incentive for police departments to hire within their communities.
Peters‘ proposal comes in the wake of the May 25 death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man, in the custody of Minneapolis police. Floyd’s death sparked protests nationwide against police brutality and racism.
„We know community policing is a forward-leaning approach to providing protection and services to the community. It’s about police officers and sheriffs knowing the community, understanding the community, often knowing individuals by name,“ said Peters, a Democrat from Bloomfield Township.
„Certainly, someone who has grown up in that community or has lived in that community for a long period of time brings a perspective to the police force or the sheriff’s department that is absolutely invaluable.“
The legislation has been endorsed by the NAACP, the Police Officers Association of Michigan and the National Urban League.
Wayne County Sheriff Benny Napoleon said the bill would go „a long way“ toward addressing the „critical“ problems that law enforcement leaders face when it comes to recruiting, hiring, training and retention.
