Challenges Facing Law Enforcement in the 21st Century

Please Note: External links included in this compilation were functional at the time of itscreation but are not maintained thereafter.This hearing compilation was prepared by the Homeland Security Digital Library,Naval Postgraduate School, Center for Homeland Defense and Security.May 17, 2017Challenges Facing Law Enforcementin the 21st CenturySubcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, andInvestigations, Committee on the Judiciary, House of Representatives,One Hundred Fifteenth Congress, First SessionHEARING CONTENTS:Member StatementsChairman Bob GoodlatteSubcomittee Chairman Trey GowdyView StatementWitnessesJames P. McDonnellSheriff of Los Angeles CountyMajor County Sheriffs of America and the National Sheriff’s AssociationView TestimonyAlonzo ThompsonChief of PoliceSpartanburg Police DepartmentView TestimonyChuck CanterburyNational PresidentFraternal Order of PoliceView TestimonyArt AcevedoChief of PoliceCity of HousonView Testimony
Please Note: External links included in this compilation were functional at the time of itscreation but are not maintained thereafter.This hearing compilation was prepared by the Homeland Security Digital Library,Naval Postgraduate School, Center for Homeland Defense and Security.Available Webcast(s): Watch Full Hearing Compiled From:https://judiciary.house.gov/hearing/challenges-facing-law-enforcement-21stcentury/House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) andCrime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations SubcommitteeChairman Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) released the following statements priorto the hearing:Chairman Goodlatte: “Local law enforcement officers are the first line of defense in ourneighborhoods and communities, making sure that our streets are safe, the most helpless in ourcommunities are protected, and those who commit crimes are brought to justice. These bravemen and women selflessly give their time and sometimes their lives to ensure the protection oftheir fellow citizens.“Next week, as we mark Police Week, the House Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing tohighlight the vital role law enforcement plays in communities across our country and will look atthe latest strategies and technologies available to our officers. It is our job as Members ofCongress to ensure our police officers have resources at their disposal to continue serving to thebest of their abilities.”Subcommittee Chairman Gowdy: “Law enforcement officers dedicate their lives to the preceptwhich undergirds our country, our way of life, and our republic – respect for and adherence tothe rule of law. They courageously propel themselves toward danger while others have theluxury of running from it, and they fight for the safety of others while putting their own lives atrisk.“Next week as we celebrate National Police Week, the House Judiciary Committee will hold ahearing to highlight the challenges our law enforcement officers face each and every day. I lookforward to hearing from our witnesses and further examining ways in which Congress can bestsupport our law enforcement officers all around the country.”

Statement of James P. McDonnell, Sheriff of Los Angeles Countyon behalf of the Major County Sheriffs of America & the NationalSheriff’s AssociationBefore the House Committee on the JudiciarySubcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, andInvestigations“Challenges Facing Law Enforcement in the 21st Century”May 17, 2017Washington, DCChairman Gowdy, Ranking Member Jackson Lee, distinguished members of the Subcommittee,thank you for inviting me to testify this morning on behalf of the Major County Sheriffs ofAmerica (MCSA) and the National Sheriff’s Association (NSA).I am currently serving my first term as Sheriff of Los Angeles County and have been in lawenforcement for 36 years. I began my career with the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD)working there for 29 years, where I held every rank from Police Officer to second in commandunder Chief Bill Bratton. For five years after I left the LAPD, I was the Chief of Police for theCity of Long Beach, California before being elected Sheriff of Los Angeles County. Today I runthe largest Sheriff’s Department in the country where I oversee over 19,000 employees andmanage an annual budget of over $ 3 billion dollars. The Los Angeles County Sheriff’sDepartment provides general law enforcement policing services to 40 contract cites, 90unincorporated communities, 216 facilities, hospitals, clinics and parks located throughout theCounty, nine community colleges of the Los Angeles Community College District, theMetropolitan Transit Authority (buses, light rail and Metrolink train service) and the 47 SuperiorCourt Houses of the Los Angeles Superior Court (largest single unified trial court system in theUnited States, operating almost 600 courtrooms with more than 500 judges). As part of our courtoperations we operate the largest enforcement of civil law (evictions, wage garnishments etc) inthe United States. LASD also provides services such as laboratories and academy training toother law enforcement agencies within the county. Additionally, LASD operates the largest jailsystem in the nation and is responsible for securing approximately 18,000 sentenced and presentenced felony and misdemeanor inmates daily in 7 custody facilities which include providingfood, education services as well as medical and mental health treatment.I am a member of two important professional associations that I am representing here today; theMajor County Sheriffs of America and the National Sheriff’s Association. The MCSA is anassociation of elected Sheriffs representing our nation’s largest counties with populations of500,000 people or more. Collectively, MCSA members serve over 100 million Americans. TheMCSA and NSA have worked diligently on behalf of their member agencies to identify andaddress challenges facing local law enforcement and are committed to advancing legislativeissues that will enhance the safety of our communities.The challenges facing law enforcement in the 21st Century are extremely complex and everevolving. Some of these are new twists to old problems and some are new, sophisticatedchallenges that 20 years ago we could not have imagined nor even prepared for. As such, we arestruggling to adjust to some very fast paced changes that are challenging our ability to do ourjobs and to protect public safety.Restoring Public Trust: High profile incidents like those in Ferguson and other places haverocked public confidence and have exasperated some of the challenges we were already facing.Our first priority will be to do our best to reach out to our communities and to look at ways thatwe can restore this community confidence in us and to where we can work with all thestakeholders to find areas where we can better address the issues that we all face that perhaps canuse a different formula and different response then we did in years past.Community engagement requires commitment at all levels in a local law enforcement agency. Itrequires commitment from agency leadership to reach out and meet with leaders from the diversecommunities in their jurisdiction. These relationships are not built overnight, but throughdedication and consistency, the relationships become resilient. Trust is built one day at atime. Trust is built one situation at a time. Furthermore, a robust community engagement effortalso requires commitment from dedicated engagement units/teams. These supervisors anddeputies are the faces of our law enforcement agencies in the community. They attend theevents; they host law enforcement-led roundtables; they host citizen academy classes; they teachcultural awareness to other law enforcement officers; and, most importantly, over time, theybecome the first point of contact for family members, teachers, or coaches if they observesomething that is not right.Recruitment and Retention: All law enforcement agencies are facing the problem of hiring andretaining qualified men and women to serve in law enforcement. This crisis in not just a localissue, it effects federal and state agencies. With recent high profile incidents, videos of lawenforcement actions going viral, recent targeted assassinations of law enforcement personnel andother negative second guessing of the press and local officials has made recruiting and hiringqualified men and women a real challenge. Combine this with the fact that gone are the days offinding young men and women who are wanting to take on a career and stay for 30 plus yearsand you are looking at a serious issue. Added to that is the difficulty of hiring minorities andwomen, who look at this negative atmosphere, and simply do not find the occupation to beappealing.Adding more concern is that in many jurisdictions around the country there are either significantpension crisis, and/or pension reform efforts that have, or will have reduced the pension formulasfor employees at all level of government service. This also serves as a disincentive and creates alevel of future uncertainty in prospective employees.Body Worn Cameras: Fast evolving technology like body worn cameras present new dynamicsto policing that could not have been imagined 20 years ago. Although body worn cameras havebeen around for the last several years a sample done in 2013 funded by the Office of CommunityOriented Policing and conducted by the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF) found that 75percent of law enforcement agencies did not use body worn cameras. That was before the eventsof the last few years. Recently, some law enforcement agencies have jumped into the bodycamera experiment based on the perceived benefits for using body-worn cameras, includingbetter evidence documentation and increased accountability and transparency, but a report by theNational Institute of Justice (NIJ) notes many other factors that law enforcement executives mustconsider such as: privacy issues, officer and community concerns, data retention and publicdisclosure policies, and financial considerations. The costs of implementing body worn camerasinclude not only the cost of the cameras, but also any ancillary equipment, data storage andmanagement, training, administration and disclosure.Social Media: Social media presents a host of issues and challenges for law enforcement in the21st century from activist organizations sudden protests, gang recruitment tools, terrorismindoctrination, chilling crimes committed live on various social media platforms, to humantrafficking, scams, and personal security issues for the public and law enforcement.Despite the growth of some positive developments in social media, there are some serious threatsthat law enforcement must address. According to the Department of Justice, ISIS is so adept inits use of social media for propaganda and recruitment that most cases of domestic terrorism cannow be traced to social media platforms. This presents enormous challenges for local and statelaw enforcement. Although the federal government primarily handles the monitoring of suchactivities, it’s local and state law enforcement that ultimately has to deal with the terrorist eventas we are the first responders. As I will discuss later in dealing with counter terrorism, we arefinding ourselves, outgunned and sometimes completely unaware of the threats in our ownneighborhoods.Another group are anarchists or those who use social media to research peaceful protests and willmix in to turn an ordinary peaceful expression of one’s constitutional rights into a melee or riot.This presents a serious challenge for all involved. Anarchists and those opportunists who relishthe chaos of such events are not new to the American discourse, but social media has given thema way to coordinate nationwide and reach thousands in a single key stroke.Law enforcement around the world are seriously behind the curve in both training, equipmentand specialists who can monitor and intercept these types of activities before an incident occurs.Resources are key here, the question comes will there ever be enough.Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV): The use of unmanned aerial vehicles in law enforcement isa growing phenomenon. Many law enforcement agencies are looking at the use of these UAV’sas a cheaper replacement to fix winged aircraft or helicopters now in service, or as a way to getthe benefits of fixed wing aircraft or helicopters for a fraction of the cost. Helicopters and otheraircraft have been in use commonly by law enforcement since the 1950’s. They have been usedto assist officers on the ground to see things and get a better operational view of situations on theground. More and more, they have been used by law enforcement to assist in search and rescueand to help evacuate people in fires and other emergency situations.However, when law enforcement looked to use UAV’s in the same manner as we use helicopterstoday, a host of objections were raised due to a lack of information about them. In California astate senator introduced legislation a few years ago, looking to prohibit law enforcement fromputting missiles or to arm law enforcement UAV’s. This state senator who watched how themilitary was using UAV’s wanted to make sure we would not be shooting missiles during carchases or other activity. This kind of misinformation has led to serious challenges and obstacle tolaw enforcement.Additionally, the laws have not kept up with the private use of UAV’s. Recently, UAV’s haveflown over fires and other critical emergency operations that have hampered first responders andprevented water carrying helicopters from operation for fear of striking a UAV. These type ofscenarios will continue to grow resulting in serious loss of life and or property.Encryption: With the advent of new encryption methods for communications devices, AmericanLaw Enforcement is rapidly losing the capability to lawfully obtain information necessary toprotect the public from crime and violence. Moreover, advocates for enhanced privacy now seekto impose further barriers and restrictions that prevent law enforcement from obtaininghistorically lawfully accessible information, even when it’s needed to stop violent criminals andto save lives.Law enforcement officials’ ability to lawfully access digital evidence has been severelyhamstrung by technological advancements and non-technological barriers to access. We in thelaw enforcement community find ourselves in a new age where criminals and terroristsenthusiastically operate beyond the confines of the law through encrypted networks, applicationsand mobile devices.Law enforcement leaders embrace encryption and respect privacy rights. Police agencies havethemselves been the victim of unlawful intrusions, cyber-attacks and the theft of sensitive data.To protect privacy and unreasonable searches, police are trained to follow strict procedures andrequired by law to obtain court orders when obtaining evidence that is protected. Theseestablished laws and procedures have served Americans well, and represent the balance betweenindividual rights and protection of the public.New measures designed to safeguard data security and privacy have thrown off the balance andhave had an unintended result – they prevent local emergency responders from helping personsin danger and apprehending subjects who pose a threat to the public we serve. Both encryptiontechnologies and proposed privacy measures have crossed over the point of balance and go tosuch extremes that police and sheriffs are prevented from discharging our most fundamental duty– protection of the public.When sheriffs have a court approved warrant or there is an immediate threat of grave harm,service providers should respond with urgency, but that is not the reality we now face. Until therecent refusal by Apple to assist the FBI with a phone recovered by the San Bernardino terrorists,the public did not realize that police routinely face delay and roadblocks when attempting toobtain information from service providers and cellular device manufacturers – even when thatinformation is needed to save lives and has been directed to be provided through a court order.Equipment and facilities: One huge challenge we face as sheriffs are outdated and aging jailinfrastructure. Most of our facilities nationwide were designed in the last century and many likemy largest was designed in the 1960’s and 1970’s. It’s mostly taboo to speak about the need formore or new jails as poll after poll has shown that the public is not supportive of funding newjails, but the reality is that we must.The population that we now house is vastly different than that in the 1950’s or even the 1980’s.Our jails were mostly built to house misdemeanor inmates for a very short period of time orfelony inmates awaiting adjudication. Today’s inmates are far more challenging. There are manymore suffering from mental illness, which I will go into more depth later. Our inmates are lesshealthy and we have challenges trying to convert jails to become Americans with Disabilities Act(ADA) complaint which leads to expensive lawsuits and costly retrofits. Many jails were notbuilt with “yard space” nor where they built with classrooms or any proper space to do any typeof meaningful rehabilitation. In some states like my own, California has implemented a“realignment” program where due to state prison overcrowding laws were changed so thatcertain felony convictions are now sentenced to the county jails instead of state prison. We haveone inmate sentenced to 26 years in the county jail that was built to house inmates for a fewmonths. We have hundreds of inmates serving more than 5 years in our jail. The averagesentence in the Los Angeles County Jail system is 2.6 years.Our facilities were not designed or built for this type of long term stay. The inmates who arefelons are more violent and dangerous than what our facilities were designed for. Many more inneed of maximum security cells or special mental health treatment space are instead housed incells not designed for this purpose.This is not just a California problem. This is a nationwide problem that is only going to getworse as now we face a growing opioid problem that will again tax our jail infrastructure andchallenge the criminal justice system to find the right facilities to house and treat this populationthat cannot be diverted and are in the system.Our equipment challenges don’t just end at the jail. We also have challenges in dealing withsophisticated and well-armed terrorists domestic and foreign. I will highlight this later on in mytestimony, but regular front line law enforcement officers who will engage terrorists such asthose in Boston, Orlando or San Bernardino are facing men and women who are armed with highcapacity assault rifles, pressure cooker and or pipe bombs, like the type thrown at police in theBoston terror attacks. Today’s front line law enforcement officers do not have the body armor tostop an assault weapon nor can our vehicles withstand a hit from a pipe bomb.We need to find the right combination of providing the protective equipment the modern lawenforcement needs and the sensitivity of the public we serve.Opioid epidemic: According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) 91 people die every dayas a result of an opioid overdose. The CDC states that drug overdose deaths and opioid-involveddeaths continue to increase in the United States. The majority of drug overdose deaths (morethan six out of ten) involve an opioid. Since 1999, the number of overdose deaths involvingopioids quadrupled. From 2000 to 2015 more than half a million-people died from drugoverdoses.This is a staggering number of deaths related to this epidemic and it only is getting worse. Onceagain according to CDC, from 2002–2013, past month heroin use, past year heroin use, andheroin addiction have all increased among 18-25 year old’s. The number of people who started touse heroin in the past year is also trending up. Among new heroin users, approximately three outof four report abusing prescription opioids prior to using heroin. The increased availability,lower price, and increased purity of heroin in the US have been identified as possiblecontributors to rising rates of heroin use. According to data from the DEA, the amount of heroinseized each year at the southwest border of the United States was approximately 500 kg during2000–2008. This amount quadrupled to 2,196 kg in 2013.Heroin-related deaths more than tripledbetween 2010 and 2015, with 12,989 heroin deaths in 2015. The largest increase in overdosedeaths from 2014 to 2015 was for those involving synthetic opioids (other than methadone),which rose from 5,544 deaths in 2014 to 9,580 deaths in 2015. One of these synthetic opioids,illegally-made fentanyl, drove the increase. It is often mixed with heroin and/or cocaine as acombination product—with or without the user’s knowledge.In the most recent report from the CDC issued in May of this year, there is now a huge rise in thenumber of Hepatitis C infections as a direct result of the epidemic. When those infected comeinto the criminal justice system they are among the most expensive and most challenging inmateto treat and provide health care for.This is a major health and criminal justice crisis. Not only have we seen a rise in the number ofdeaths from fentanyl, those that survive the use of these synthetic opioids are another factor inthe number of mentally ill we are seeing in our streets, in our criminal justice system, and sadlyin our jails.Grants: With an increased threat environment, law enforcement has continually been tasked todo more with less. Cost implications coupled with a heightened security environment is simplyunsustainable. In an era of deep budget cuts and lack of federal funding, state and local lawenforcement does not have the necessary funds, and most recently access to necessary lifesavingequipment.Grant programs such as the State Homeland Security Grant Program (SHSP) and the UrbanAreas Security Initiative (UASI) work to address gaps in local agencies capabilities forresponding to terrorist threats. Other programs such as the Edward Byrne Memorial JusticeAssistance Grant Program (JAG) have a broader focus of providing critical funding to support arange of different program areas. Over the past few fiscal years, law enforcement has seen asteady decline in federal grant funding and most recently, police grants typically have at least a25% match so the communities in the greatest need due to financial distress do not have thefinancial ability to accept the grant due to cost implications.In 1994, the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) began to administer the State Criminal AlienAssistance Program (SCAAP), which “provides federal payments to states and localities thatincurred correctional officer salary costs for incarcerating undocumented criminal aliens whohave at least one felony or two misdemeanor convictions for violations of state or local law, andwho are incarcerated for at least 4 consecutive days during the reporting period.”Despite SCAAP program funding, it does not fully reimburse actual detention costs associatedwith the incarceration of illegal criminal aliens. Instead, data received by all applicant agenciesis combined to determine each applicant’s relative percentage of the total SCAAP allocation.Consequently, it is not uncommon for most agencies to receive SCAAP reimbursement of only afew percentage points of the actual costs incurred. Historically, the total amount ofreimbursements received have been drastically reduced every year, especially since 2008. Forexample, in San Bernardino County, the SCAAP reimbursement in 2008 was $2,324,814. In2015, the reimbursement was reduced by over 80% to $425,559.Human Trafficking: Human trafficking is a crime involving the exploitation of someone for thepurposes of compelled labor or a commercial sex act through the use of force, fraud, or coercion.Human trafficking affects individuals across the world, including here in the United States, andis commonly regarded as one of the most pressing human rights issues of our time. Humantrafficking affects every community in the United States across age, gender, ethnicity, and socioeconomic backgrounds.The crisis that is human trafficking has been a source of concern and effort for the last few years.Over that time, we have seen enormous recognition of the problem, efforts by states to protectjuvenile victims of this crime, and very successful coordination by local state and federal lawenforcement agencies to work together. But much more can be done. There are still an estimated14,500 to 17,500 people trafficked in the United States every year.Recently in Los Angeles County we conducted a joint operation with local police agencies, stateagencies and various federal law enforcement agencies. During the three-day statewideoperation, the Taskforce arrested 142 individuals on solicitation charges and 36 others onsuspicion of trafficking, plus rescued 28 commercially and sexually exploited children and 27adult victims. To date, the Taskforce has rescued 120 children and 42 adult victims of humantrafficking. These efforts complement other county anti-trafficking initiatives, including the LawEnforcement First Responder Protocol for Commercially Sexually Exploited Children. Thisimportant program involves a coordinated multi-agency effort to identify and respond totrafficked minors using a victim-centered approach that avoids arrest and detention andprioritizes services.This is just a sample of the type of operations that sheriff departments and all law enforcementwork on to protect those in our society, but more that needs to be done.Below are some ideas that could help our efforts to combat this terrible crime.• Separate Grant Funding for Sex and Labor Trafficking: Current grant fundingpredominantly combines labor and sex trafficking together; however, these two types ofinvestigations and victim needs are distinct and unique. Separate grant funding wouldallow individual regional teams to specialize and excel in the two distinct crimes andvictim needs.• Funding for Regional Enforcement Efforts: Currently, a larger portion of Federal grantsare dedicated toward service providers and victim centered programs. Although theseprograms are vitally important, additional funding is needed to better support basic lawenforcement efforts, such as the detection, identification and apprehension of humantraffickers as well as the development of an intelligence sharing data platform for humantrafficking suspects and victims.• Funding to Support Cyber-Based Operations: As the sex trafficking industry continues togravitate from the sidewalk to the cyber world, the demand for more current technologyand investigative technological expertise increases. Federal funding to support thepurchase of electronic devices and training for this aspect of trafficking enforcement isvital for law enforcement to keep pace with current cyber enforcement techniques andprocedures for enforcing trafficking violations that are perpetuated on.Terrorism: Acts of domestic or foreign inspired terrorism has become a reality in the way welive in America. From the attacks on 9/11 to the attacks in Orlando, San Bernardino, or Bostonjust to name a few, the law enforcement community must be prepared to be not only the firstresponder, but also build trust among the local communities that may provide the tip of anupcoming terrorist attack. Former FBI director Comey testified earlier this month that there weresome 1,000 home grown violent extremist investigations ongoing, and “some 2,000 plus” casesof people in contact with terrorists abroad. Simply put, the FBI does not have the kind ofresources to monitor each and every one of these people and if or when they decide to act, it isnot usually the FBI that is the first responder, but instead local and state law enforcement.As I stated earlier, standard issue vests and fleet patrol cars are no match for high poweredassault weapons, pipe bombs or worse. The importance of the 1033 program is critical toproviding the nation’s first responders with the equipment and supplies to ensure public safety.The Law Enforcement Support Office (LESO) military surplus and federal grant programs areexamples of a good partnership between the federal government and local government entities. Itis fiscally responsible and assists in equipping our nation’s law enforcement with equipment thatsaves lives. In areas of our nation that are fiscally stressed, it is potentially the only way their lawenforcement officers would ever receive that type of support. The transfer of equipment fromfederal inventory saves taxpayers a significant amount of money, simply because federal surplusitems have already been purchased once. In fact, many of the same items that they receivethrough federal assistance programs have been used by law enforcement agencies for decades.Through executive action and not legislation, the Obama administration recalled certain 1033controlled military surplus equipment. While the ultimate goals of law enforcement remain thesame: to protect the public; to solve, deter and respond to criminal acts; and to enforce the law ina responsible and constitutional manner, the Administration sought to inappropriately legislatethrough perception at the cost of public safety.In San Bernardino, all items obtained through the 1033 program by the Sheriff’s Office are usedsolely by specialized divisions and personnel. Prior to acceptance of this equipment, it receivesBoard of Supervisor’s approval.The recall of certain types of controlled equipment will undoubtedly leave America’s lawenforcement less prepared and at a disadvantage to protect local communities against terrorattacks and dangerous situations.Mental Health: This is one of the fastest growing and most challenging issues facing lawenforcement in this century. I have already laid out some of my concerns about this in other partsof my testimony concerning the growing numbers and the inadequate facilities, but now I want tobring it full circle.Ever since the deinstitutionalization of the mentally ill that occurred in the 1960’s jails andprisons have become the defacto mental health hospitals, and front line law enforcement officershave become the option of last resort for many of those suffering from mental health issues.We have talked about the statistics for years. We in Los Angeles County for instance, used to telleveryone who would listen that our jail was the largest mental health care provider in the nation.That is a failure of the criminal justice system nationwide.The problem has existed for years and is now getting worse. Almost 1/3 of my jail populationsuffers from some sort of mental health issue. On any given day upwards of 5,000 inmates are inneed of treatment. As I stated earlier in my testimony, our facilities were not designed for thispopulation and we certainly do not have the proper space to treat these inmates/patients, nor dowe have the adequate number of mental health professions to provide proper care.Every city and county in America needs help. Here is how.We need to reexamine how first responders approach and deal with people having a mentalhealth crisis. Sheriff’s deputies and police officers with little to no training in mental healthtreatment or co-occurring substance abuse disorders respond to a call for service, then once onscene have no place to take a person other than jail is nothing more than a failure of the system.Are there times when jail is the best or most appropriate option? Yes, but it is our experience thatthose may be few and far between.The first step is to provide Crisis Intervention Training to all first responders, both lawenforcement and fire department personnel (paramedics). This training brings together lawenforcement, first responders, mental health professionals and those with mental health issues tobetter understand and deal with those in crisis.The second step is to begin a nationwide expansion of a highly successful program of teaming upmental health professionals with law enforcement officers that work as an intercept firstresponder team. In Los Angeles County for instance we have had these teams since the 1990’s.Some other major cities and counties throughout the nation have some variation of this programand they are highly successful, but seriously overworked and understaffed. Most cities andcounties that operate such a program cannot provide the service 24-7 and in many places becauseof the geography it becomes very difficult to respond in a timely manner. However, in ourexperience when a team such as this is called to a scene, we have been able to divert theindividual away from the criminal justice system and into proper mental health treatmentfacilities in 99% of the encounters. We have just obtained critical funding from our County toexpand this program to provide for more teams and more coverage. In Los Angeles County alonein areas policed by the sheriff’s department, 911 calls involving people with mental illness havegrown 55% since 2010.In order to address this increase nationwide calls for service we, like other jurisdictions, needmore resources to expand these teams and we need help to expand proper mental healthtreatment centers.The third step, is diversion. That would include better training of district and city attorneys aswell as defense attorneys. There should also be dedicated mental health courts that couldrecommend better options for those in suffering from mental illness than jail or prison.Lastly, we need to have an adult conversation about what to do with those suffering from mentalillness that do end up in the criminal justice system and in our jails and prisons. As I statedearlier, our facilities across the nation are not built for, nor were designed to, house this type ofpopulation let alone provide treatment. We as a nation need to see clearly that not everyonesuffering from mental illness or other disabilities can be diverted and that some will end up inour jails. As such, we need to provide the most humane, modern and safest setting for them, sothey can receive the treatment and help they need.I want to thank the Subcommittee and its staff for all of their hard work and for affording me theopportunity to testify before you today. The MCSA and NSA seek to be a positive sources ofideas and I thank the Chairman for his commitment to collaboration and willingness to engagelocal law enforcement.

W E D N E S D A Y , M A Y 1 7 , 2 0 1 72 1 3 8 R A Y B U R N H O U S E O F F I C E B U I L D I N GW A S H I N G T O N , D . C . 2 0 5 1 5 – 6 2 1 6CHALLENGES FACINGLAW ENFORCEMENT INTHE 21 S T CENTURYALONZO THOMPSONCHIEF OF POLICECITY OF SPARTANBURG, SOUTH CAROLINA2 | P a g eAlonzo Thompson – CHALLENGES FACING LAW ENFORCEMENTGood morning. Mr. Chairman and members of the House Committee on the Judiciary’sSubcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations, I am honoredby the invitation to address this distinguished body.The “Challenges Facing Law Enforcement in the 21st Century” are numerous and varieddependent upon whether it is a local, state or federal entity. Domestic terrorism, gangs,illegal narcotics, gun violence, cyber-crimes, social media, behavioral health and highwaysafety issues pose significant challenges for law enforcement at all levels, and this is not anall-inclusive list by any means. In addition to those widely recognized concerns, there existthree pressing matters that are demanding our immediate attention, particularly at the locallevel: (1) Community-police relations, (2) Recruitment and Retention, and (3) BudgetaryRestraints. Our ability and capacity to respond appropriately and effectively to theaforementioned concerns are largely dependent upon how well we manage these threefoundational issues.

Highly publicized police-citizen encounters have gotten the attention of our nation.Increasingly, citizens are interested in how police departments operate and the decisionsmade by law enforcement practitioners. Now more than ever, questions about policeaccountability, police training (use of force), and organizational culture (implicit bias or racialprofiling) are common. As a result of the intense scrutiny, improving community-policerelations is paramount. Even agencies such as my own that have traditionally valued andfocused their efforts on community engagement must continually strive to strengthen thoserelationships and to build new ones. Public safety is the entire community’s responsibility,and we will not be as responsive or as successful without strong collaborative partnerships.With “baby boomers” retiring and shrinking applicant pools, recruiting and retention is astruggle for law enforcement agencies today. The inherent dangers of the profession and itsintense scrutiny and harsh criticism discourage some from entering and/or remaining in lawenforcement while others pursue more lucrative, less stressful and safer career fields.Minority recruitment poses even a greater challenge. Retention has been negatively impactedby tightening budgets that have resulted in stagnant wages, increased cost of employee3 | P a g ebenefits and limited performance based incentives and special skills pay. This funding issuesegues into the third and final challenge I wish to share with you this morning – budgetaryrestraints.In a climate where government bodies are plagued with lingering economic woes and areforced to make very difficult choices about their budgets, most police departments areunderfunded. Consequently, it has become increasingly difficult to compete with“Corporate America” for qualified applicants and to retain experienced personnel. We alsoface the growing necessity for advanced technology, for example body worn cameras, lessthan lethal weapons, integrated records management and interoperable communicationssystems; some are unfunded mandates. Leaders must figure out how to integrate thetechnological advancements into their agencies with limited funding. Many law enforcementagencies committed to equip officers with body-worn cameras which expanded theopportunities for officers to capture more of those critical police-citizen encounters. But,this technology comes with a cost. Additional funding from governmental sources will beneeded not only for equipment but for training that enhances the diversity consciousness oflaw enforcement professionals such as implicit bias, de-escalation, use of force and othersubject matters deemed necessary. Although the specific need(s) may vary, the challenge ordilemma is the same. There is increased scrutiny and greater expectations from the citizenry,but unfortunately there are less and/or inadequate resources and personnel to meet theirdemands.In conclusion, I reiterate these issues must be immediately addressed. Enhancingcommunity-police relations is fundamental to “local” law enforcement gathering informationand proactively combating crime and terrorism; this includes building communitypartnerships to solve an array of societal problems. Recruiting and retaining lawenforcement professionals at the local level will ensure that we have a highly trained andexperienced workforce to provide police-related services and conduct complexinvestigations, whether they involve criminal activity, terrorism, or a nexus between the two.We need enhanced capabilities to handle current issues as efficiently as possible and to giveus the time we need to look toward the future to anticipate and prepare for new crime trendsand emerging opportunities.4 | P a g eAgain, I appreciate the opportunity to share my views on the “Challenges Facing LawEnforcement in the 21st Century”. Thank you for your time.

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Challenges Facing Law Enforcement in the 21st Century

Please Note: External links included in this compilation were functional at the time of itscreation but are not maintained thereafter.This hearing compilation was prepared by the Homeland Security Digital Library,Naval Postgraduate School, Center for Homeland Defense and Security.May 17, 2017Challenges Facing Law Enforcementin the 21st CenturySubcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, andInvestigations, Committee on the Judiciary, House of Representatives,One Hundred Fifteenth Congress, First SessionHEARING CONTENTS:Member StatementsChairman Bob GoodlatteSubcomittee Chairman Trey GowdyView StatementWitnessesJames P. McDonnellSheriff of Los Angeles CountyMajor County Sheriffs of America and the National Sheriff’s AssociationView TestimonyAlonzo ThompsonChief of PoliceSpartanburg Police DepartmentView TestimonyChuck CanterburyNational PresidentFraternal Order of PoliceView TestimonyArt AcevedoChief of PoliceCity of HousonView Testimony
Please Note: External links included in this compilation were functional at the time of itscreation but are not maintained thereafter.This hearing compilation was prepared by the Homeland Security Digital Library,Naval Postgraduate School, Center for Homeland Defense and Security.Available Webcast(s): Watch Full Hearing Compiled From:https://judiciary.house.gov/hearing/challenges-facing-law-enforcement-21stcentury/House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) andCrime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations SubcommitteeChairman Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) released the following statements priorto the hearing:Chairman Goodlatte: “Local law enforcement officers are the first line of defense in ourneighborhoods and communities, making sure that our streets are safe, the most helpless in ourcommunities are protected, and those who commit crimes are brought to justice. These bravemen and women selflessly give their time and sometimes their lives to ensure the protection oftheir fellow citizens.“Next week, as we mark Police Week, the House Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing tohighlight the vital role law enforcement plays in communities across our country and will look atthe latest strategies and technologies available to our officers. It is our job as Members ofCongress to ensure our police officers have resources at their disposal to continue serving to thebest of their abilities.”Subcommittee Chairman Gowdy: “Law enforcement officers dedicate their lives to the preceptwhich undergirds our country, our way of life, and our republic – respect for and adherence tothe rule of law. They courageously propel themselves toward danger while others have theluxury of running from it, and they fight for the safety of others while putting their own lives atrisk.“Next week as we celebrate National Police Week, the House Judiciary Committee will hold ahearing to highlight the challenges our law enforcement officers face each and every day. I lookforward to hearing from our witnesses and further examining ways in which Congress can bestsupport our law enforcement officers all around the country.”

Statement of James P. McDonnell, Sheriff of Los Angeles Countyon behalf of the Major County Sheriffs of America & the NationalSheriff’s AssociationBefore the House Committee on the JudiciarySubcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, andInvestigations“Challenges Facing Law Enforcement in the 21st Century”May 17, 2017Washington, DCChairman Gowdy, Ranking Member Jackson Lee, distinguished members of the Subcommittee,thank you for inviting me to testify this morning on behalf of the Major County Sheriffs ofAmerica (MCSA) and the National Sheriff’s Association (NSA).I am currently serving my first term as Sheriff of Los Angeles County and have been in lawenforcement for 36 years. I began my career with the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD)working there for 29 years, where I held every rank from Police Officer to second in commandunder Chief Bill Bratton. For five years after I left the LAPD, I was the Chief of Police for theCity of Long Beach, California before being elected Sheriff of Los Angeles County. Today I runthe largest Sheriff’s Department in the country where I oversee over 19,000 employees andmanage an annual budget of over $ 3 billion dollars. The Los Angeles County Sheriff’sDepartment provides general law enforcement policing services to 40 contract cites, 90unincorporated communities, 216 facilities, hospitals, clinics and parks located throughout theCounty, nine community colleges of the Los Angeles Community College District, theMetropolitan Transit Authority (buses, light rail and Metrolink train service) and the 47 SuperiorCourt Houses of the Los Angeles Superior Court (largest single unified trial court system in theUnited States, operating almost 600 courtrooms with more than 500 judges). As part of our courtoperations we operate the largest enforcement of civil law (evictions, wage garnishments etc) inthe United States. LASD also provides services such as laboratories and academy training toother law enforcement agencies within the county. Additionally, LASD operates the largest jailsystem in the nation and is responsible for securing approximately 18,000 sentenced and presentenced felony and misdemeanor inmates daily in 7 custody facilities which include providingfood, education services as well as medical and mental health treatment.I am a member of two important professional associations that I am representing here today; theMajor County Sheriffs of America and the National Sheriff’s Association. The MCSA is anassociation of elected Sheriffs representing our nation’s largest counties with populations of500,000 people or more. Collectively, MCSA members serve over 100 million Americans. TheMCSA and NSA have worked diligently on behalf of their member agencies to identify andaddress challenges facing local law enforcement and are committed to advancing legislativeissues that will enhance the safety of our communities.The challenges facing law enforcement in the 21st Century are extremely complex and everevolving. Some of these are new twists to old problems and some are new, sophisticatedchallenges that 20 years ago we could not have imagined nor even prepared for. As such, we arestruggling to adjust to some very fast paced changes that are challenging our ability to do ourjobs and to protect public safety.Restoring Public Trust: High profile incidents like those in Ferguson and other places haverocked public confidence and have exasperated some of the challenges we were already facing.Our first priority will be to do our best to reach out to our communities and to look at ways thatwe can restore this community confidence in us and to where we can work with all thestakeholders to find areas where we can better address the issues that we all face that perhaps canuse a different formula and different response then we did in years past.Community engagement requires commitment at all levels in a local law enforcement agency. Itrequires commitment from agency leadership to reach out and meet with leaders from the diversecommunities in their jurisdiction. These relationships are not built overnight, but throughdedication and consistency, the relationships become resilient. Trust is built one day at atime. Trust is built one situation at a time. Furthermore, a robust community engagement effortalso requires commitment from dedicated engagement units/teams. These supervisors anddeputies are the faces of our law enforcement agencies in the community. They attend theevents; they host law enforcement-led roundtables; they host citizen academy classes; they teachcultural awareness to other law enforcement officers; and, most importantly, over time, theybecome the first point of contact for family members, teachers, or coaches if they observesomething that is not right.Recruitment and Retention: All law enforcement agencies are facing the problem of hiring andretaining qualified men and women to serve in law enforcement. This crisis in not just a localissue, it effects federal and state agencies. With recent high profile incidents, videos of lawenforcement actions going viral, recent targeted assassinations of law enforcement personnel andother negative second guessing of the press and local officials has made recruiting and hiringqualified men and women a real challenge. Combine this with the fact that gone are the days offinding young men and women who are wanting to take on a career and stay for 30 plus yearsand you are looking at a serious issue. Added to that is the difficulty of hiring minorities andwomen, who look at this negative atmosphere, and simply do not find the occupation to beappealing.Adding more concern is that in many jurisdictions around the country there are either significantpension crisis, and/or pension reform efforts that have, or will have reduced the pension formulasfor employees at all level of government service. This also serves as a disincentive and creates alevel of future uncertainty in prospective employees.Body Worn Cameras: Fast evolving technology like body worn cameras present new dynamicsto policing that could not have been imagined 20 years ago. Although body worn cameras havebeen around for the last several years a sample done in 2013 funded by the Office of CommunityOriented Policing and conducted by the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF) found that 75percent of law enforcement agencies did not use body worn cameras. That was before the eventsof the last few years. Recently, some law enforcement agencies have jumped into the bodycamera experiment based on the perceived benefits for using body-worn cameras, includingbetter evidence documentation and increased accountability and transparency, but a report by theNational Institute of Justice (NIJ) notes many other factors that law enforcement executives mustconsider such as: privacy issues, officer and community concerns, data retention and publicdisclosure policies, and financial considerations. The costs of implementing body worn camerasinclude not only the cost of the cameras, but also any ancillary equipment, data storage andmanagement, training, administration and disclosure.Social Media: Social media presents a host of issues and challenges for law enforcement in the21st century from activist organizations sudden protests, gang recruitment tools, terrorismindoctrination, chilling crimes committed live on various social media platforms, to humantrafficking, scams, and personal security issues for the public and law enforcement.Despite the growth of some positive developments in social media, there are some serious threatsthat law enforcement must address. According to the Department of Justice, ISIS is so adept inits use of social media for propaganda and recruitment that most cases of domestic terrorism cannow be traced to social media platforms. This presents enormous challenges for local and statelaw enforcement. Although the federal government primarily handles the monitoring of suchactivities, it’s local and state law enforcement that ultimately has to deal with the terrorist eventas we are the first responders. As I will discuss later in dealing with counter terrorism, we arefinding ourselves, outgunned and sometimes completely unaware of the threats in our ownneighborhoods.Another group are anarchists or those who use social media to research peaceful protests and willmix in to turn an ordinary peaceful expression of one’s constitutional rights into a melee or riot.This presents a serious challenge for all involved. Anarchists and those opportunists who relishthe chaos of such events are not new to the American discourse, but social media has given thema way to coordinate nationwide and reach thousands in a single key stroke.Law enforcement around the world are seriously behind the curve in both training, equipmentand specialists who can monitor and intercept these types of activities before an incident occurs.Resources are key here, the question comes will there ever be enough.Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV): The use of unmanned aerial vehicles in law enforcement isa growing phenomenon. Many law enforcement agencies are looking at the use of these UAV’sas a cheaper replacement to fix winged aircraft or helicopters now in service, or as a way to getthe benefits of fixed wing aircraft or helicopters for a fraction of the cost. Helicopters and otheraircraft have been in use commonly by law enforcement since the 1950’s. They have been usedto assist officers on the ground to see things and get a better operational view of situations on theground. More and more, they have been used by law enforcement to assist in search and rescueand to help evacuate people in fires and other emergency situations.However, when law enforcement looked to use UAV’s in the same manner as we use helicopterstoday, a host of objections were raised due to a lack of information about them. In California astate senator introduced legislation a few years ago, looking to prohibit law enforcement fromputting missiles or to arm law enforcement UAV’s. This state senator who watched how themilitary was using UAV’s wanted to make sure we would not be shooting missiles during carchases or other activity. This kind of misinformation has led to serious challenges and obstacle tolaw enforcement.Additionally, the laws have not kept up with the private use of UAV’s. Recently, UAV’s haveflown over fires and other critical emergency operations that have hampered first responders andprevented water carrying helicopters from operation for fear of striking a UAV. These type ofscenarios will continue to grow resulting in serious loss of life and or property.Encryption: With the advent of new encryption methods for communications devices, AmericanLaw Enforcement is rapidly losing the capability to lawfully obtain information necessary toprotect the public from crime and violence. Moreover, advocates for enhanced privacy now seekto impose further barriers and restrictions that prevent law enforcement from obtaininghistorically lawfully accessible information, even when it’s needed to stop violent criminals andto save lives.Law enforcement officials’ ability to lawfully access digital evidence has been severelyhamstrung by technological advancements and non-technological barriers to access. We in thelaw enforcement community find ourselves in a new age where criminals and terroristsenthusiastically operate beyond the confines of the law through encrypted networks, applicationsand mobile devices.Law enforcement leaders embrace encryption and respect privacy rights. Police agencies havethemselves been the victim of unlawful intrusions, cyber-attacks and the theft of sensitive data.To protect privacy and unreasonable searches, police are trained to follow strict procedures andrequired by law to obtain court orders when obtaining evidence that is protected. Theseestablished laws and procedures have served Americans well, and represent the balance betweenindividual rights and protection of the public.New measures designed to safeguard data security and privacy have thrown off the balance andhave had an unintended result – they prevent local emergency responders from helping personsin danger and apprehending subjects who pose a threat to the public we serve. Both encryptiontechnologies and proposed privacy measures have crossed over the point of balance and go tosuch extremes that police and sheriffs are prevented from discharging our most fundamental duty– protection of the public.When sheriffs have a court approved warrant or there is an immediate threat of grave harm,service providers should respond with urgency, but that is not the reality we now face. Until therecent refusal by Apple to assist the FBI with a phone recovered by the San Bernardino terrorists,the public did not realize that police routinely face delay and roadblocks when attempting toobtain information from service providers and cellular device manufacturers – even when thatinformation is needed to save lives and has been directed to be provided through a court order.Equipment and facilities: One huge challenge we face as sheriffs are outdated and aging jailinfrastructure. Most of our facilities nationwide were designed in the last century and many likemy largest was designed in the 1960’s and 1970’s. It’s mostly taboo to speak about the need formore or new jails as poll after poll has shown that the public is not supportive of funding newjails, but the reality is that we must.The population that we now house is vastly different than that in the 1950’s or even the 1980’s.Our jails were mostly built to house misdemeanor inmates for a very short period of time orfelony inmates awaiting adjudication. Today’s inmates are far more challenging. There are manymore suffering from mental illness, which I will go into more depth later. Our inmates are lesshealthy and we have challenges trying to convert jails to become Americans with Disabilities Act(ADA) complaint which leads to expensive lawsuits and costly retrofits. Many jails were notbuilt with “yard space” nor where they built with classrooms or any proper space to do any typeof meaningful rehabilitation. In some states like my own, California has implemented a“realignment” program where due to state prison overcrowding laws were changed so thatcertain felony convictions are now sentenced to the county jails instead of state prison. We haveone inmate sentenced to 26 years in the county jail that was built to house inmates for a fewmonths. We have hundreds of inmates serving more than 5 years in our jail. The averagesentence in the Los Angeles County Jail system is 2.6 years.Our facilities were not designed or built for this type of long term stay. The inmates who arefelons are more violent and dangerous than what our facilities were designed for. Many more inneed of maximum security cells or special mental health treatment space are instead housed incells not designed for this purpose.This is not just a California problem. This is a nationwide problem that is only going to getworse as now we face a growing opioid problem that will again tax our jail infrastructure andchallenge the criminal justice system to find the right facilities to house and treat this populationthat cannot be diverted and are in the system.Our equipment challenges don’t just end at the jail. We also have challenges in dealing withsophisticated and well-armed terrorists domestic and foreign. I will highlight this later on in mytestimony, but regular front line law enforcement officers who will engage terrorists such asthose in Boston, Orlando or San Bernardino are facing men and women who are armed with highcapacity assault rifles, pressure cooker and or pipe bombs, like the type thrown at police in theBoston terror attacks. Today’s front line law enforcement officers do not have the body armor tostop an assault weapon nor can our vehicles withstand a hit from a pipe bomb.We need to find the right combination of providing the protective equipment the modern lawenforcement needs and the sensitivity of the public we serve.Opioid epidemic: According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) 91 people die every dayas a result of an opioid overdose. The CDC states that drug overdose deaths and opioid-involveddeaths continue to increase in the United States. The majority of drug overdose deaths (morethan six out of ten) involve an opioid. Since 1999, the number of overdose deaths involvingopioids quadrupled. From 2000 to 2015 more than half a million-people died from drugoverdoses.This is a staggering number of deaths related to this epidemic and it only is getting worse. Onceagain according to CDC, from 2002–2013, past month heroin use, past year heroin use, andheroin addiction have all increased among 18-25 year old’s. The number of people who started touse heroin in the past year is also trending up. Among new heroin users, approximately three outof four report abusing prescription opioids prior to using heroin. The increased availability,lower price, and increased purity of heroin in the US have been identified as possiblecontributors to rising rates of heroin use. According to data from the DEA, the amount of heroinseized each year at the southwest border of the United States was approximately 500 kg during2000–2008. This amount quadrupled to 2,196 kg in 2013.Heroin-related deaths more than tripledbetween 2010 and 2015, with 12,989 heroin deaths in 2015. The largest increase in overdosedeaths from 2014 to 2015 was for those involving synthetic opioids (other than methadone),which rose from 5,544 deaths in 2014 to 9,580 deaths in 2015. One of these synthetic opioids,illegally-made fentanyl, drove the increase. It is often mixed with heroin and/or cocaine as acombination product—with or without the user’s knowledge.In the most recent report from the CDC issued in May of this year, there is now a huge rise in thenumber of Hepatitis C infections as a direct result of the epidemic. When those infected comeinto the criminal justice system they are among the most expensive and most challenging inmateto treat and provide health care for.This is a major health and criminal justice crisis. Not only have we seen a rise in the number ofdeaths from fentanyl, those that survive the use of these synthetic opioids are another factor inthe number of mentally ill we are seeing in our streets, in our criminal justice system, and sadlyin our jails.Grants: With an increased threat environment, law enforcement has continually been tasked todo more with less. Cost implications coupled with a heightened security environment is simplyunsustainable. In an era of deep budget cuts and lack of federal funding, state and local lawenforcement does not have the necessary funds, and most recently access to necessary lifesavingequipment.Grant programs such as the State Homeland Security Grant Program (SHSP) and the UrbanAreas Security Initiative (UASI) work to address gaps in local agencies capabilities forresponding to terrorist threats. Other programs such as the Edward Byrne Memorial JusticeAssistance Grant Program (JAG) have a broader focus of providing critical funding to support arange of different program areas. Over the past few fiscal years, law enforcement has seen asteady decline in federal grant funding and most recently, police grants typically have at least a25% match so the communities in the greatest need due to financial distress do not have thefinancial ability to accept the grant due to cost implications.In 1994, the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) began to administer the State Criminal AlienAssistance Program (SCAAP), which “provides federal payments to states and localities thatincurred correctional officer salary costs for incarcerating undocumented criminal aliens whohave at least one felony or two misdemeanor convictions for violations of state or local law, andwho are incarcerated for at least 4 consecutive days during the reporting period.”Despite SCAAP program funding, it does not fully reimburse actual detention costs associatedwith the incarceration of illegal criminal aliens. Instead, data received by all applicant agenciesis combined to determine each applicant’s relative percentage of the total SCAAP allocation.Consequently, it is not uncommon for most agencies to receive SCAAP reimbursement of only afew percentage points of the actual costs incurred. Historically, the total amount ofreimbursements received have been drastically reduced every year, especially since 2008. Forexample, in San Bernardino County, the SCAAP reimbursement in 2008 was $2,324,814. In2015, the reimbursement was reduced by over 80% to $425,559.Human Trafficking: Human trafficking is a crime involving the exploitation of someone for thepurposes of compelled labor or a commercial sex act through the use of force, fraud, or coercion.Human trafficking affects individuals across the world, including here in the United States, andis commonly regarded as one of the most pressing human rights issues of our time. Humantrafficking affects every community in the United States across age, gender, ethnicity, and socioeconomic backgrounds.The crisis that is human trafficking has been a source of concern and effort for the last few years.Over that time, we have seen enormous recognition of the problem, efforts by states to protectjuvenile victims of this crime, and very successful coordination by local state and federal lawenforcement agencies to work together. But much more can be done. There are still an estimated14,500 to 17,500 people trafficked in the United States every year.Recently in Los Angeles County we conducted a joint operation with local police agencies, stateagencies and various federal law enforcement agencies. During the three-day statewideoperation, the Taskforce arrested 142 individuals on solicitation charges and 36 others onsuspicion of trafficking, plus rescued 28 commercially and sexually exploited children and 27adult victims. To date, the Taskforce has rescued 120 children and 42 adult victims of humantrafficking. These efforts complement other county anti-trafficking initiatives, including the LawEnforcement First Responder Protocol for Commercially Sexually Exploited Children. Thisimportant program involves a coordinated multi-agency effort to identify and respond totrafficked minors using a victim-centered approach that avoids arrest and detention andprioritizes services.This is just a sample of the type of operations that sheriff departments and all law enforcementwork on to protect those in our society, but more that needs to be done.Below are some ideas that could help our efforts to combat this terrible crime.• Separate Grant Funding for Sex and Labor Trafficking: Current grant fundingpredominantly combines labor and sex trafficking together; however, these two types ofinvestigations and victim needs are distinct and unique. Separate grant funding wouldallow individual regional teams to specialize and excel in the two distinct crimes andvictim needs.• Funding for Regional Enforcement Efforts: Currently, a larger portion of Federal grantsare dedicated toward service providers and victim centered programs. Although theseprograms are vitally important, additional funding is needed to better support basic lawenforcement efforts, such as the detection, identification and apprehension of humantraffickers as well as the development of an intelligence sharing data platform for humantrafficking suspects and victims.• Funding to Support Cyber-Based Operations: As the sex trafficking industry continues togravitate from the sidewalk to the cyber world, the demand for more current technologyand investigative technological expertise increases. Federal funding to support thepurchase of electronic devices and training for this aspect of trafficking enforcement isvital for law enforcement to keep pace with current cyber enforcement techniques andprocedures for enforcing trafficking violations that are perpetuated on.Terrorism: Acts of domestic or foreign inspired terrorism has become a reality in the way welive in America. From the attacks on 9/11 to the attacks in Orlando, San Bernardino, or Bostonjust to name a few, the law enforcement community must be prepared to be not only the firstresponder, but also build trust among the local communities that may provide the tip of anupcoming terrorist attack. Former FBI director Comey testified earlier this month that there weresome 1,000 home grown violent extremist investigations ongoing, and “some 2,000 plus” casesof people in contact with terrorists abroad. Simply put, the FBI does not have the kind ofresources to monitor each and every one of these people and if or when they decide to act, it isnot usually the FBI that is the first responder, but instead local and state law enforcement.As I stated earlier, standard issue vests and fleet patrol cars are no match for high poweredassault weapons, pipe bombs or worse. The importance of the 1033 program is critical toproviding the nation’s first responders with the equipment and supplies to ensure public safety.The Law Enforcement Support Office (LESO) military surplus and federal grant programs areexamples of a good partnership between the federal government and local government entities. Itis fiscally responsible and assists in equipping our nation’s law enforcement with equipment thatsaves lives. In areas of our nation that are fiscally stressed, it is potentially the only way their lawenforcement officers would ever receive that type of support. The transfer of equipment fromfederal inventory saves taxpayers a significant amount of money, simply because federal surplusitems have already been purchased once. In fact, many of the same items that they receivethrough federal assistance programs have been used by law enforcement agencies for decades.Through executive action and not legislation, the Obama administration recalled certain 1033controlled military surplus equipment. While the ultimate goals of law enforcement remain thesame: to protect the public; to solve, deter and respond to criminal acts; and to enforce the law ina responsible and constitutional manner, the Administration sought to inappropriately legislatethrough perception at the cost of public safety.In San Bernardino, all items obtained through the 1033 program by the Sheriff’s Office are usedsolely by specialized divisions and personnel. Prior to acceptance of this equipment, it receivesBoard of Supervisor’s approval.The recall of certain types of controlled equipment will undoubtedly leave America’s lawenforcement less prepared and at a disadvantage to protect local communities against terrorattacks and dangerous situations.Mental Health: This is one of the fastest growing and most challenging issues facing lawenforcement in this century. I have already laid out some of my concerns about this in other partsof my testimony concerning the growing numbers and the inadequate facilities, but now I want tobring it full circle.Ever since the deinstitutionalization of the mentally ill that occurred in the 1960’s jails andprisons have become the defacto mental health hospitals, and front line law enforcement officershave become the option of last resort for many of those suffering from mental health issues.We have talked about the statistics for years. We in Los Angeles County for instance, used to telleveryone who would listen that our jail was the largest mental health care provider in the nation.That is a failure of the criminal justice system nationwide.The problem has existed for years and is now getting worse. Almost 1/3 of my jail populationsuffers from some sort of mental health issue. On any given day upwards of 5,000 inmates are inneed of treatment. As I stated earlier in my testimony, our facilities were not designed for thispopulation and we certainly do not have the proper space to treat these inmates/patients, nor dowe have the adequate number of mental health professions to provide proper care.Every city and county in America needs help. Here is how.We need to reexamine how first responders approach and deal with people having a mentalhealth crisis. Sheriff’s deputies and police officers with little to no training in mental healthtreatment or co-occurring substance abuse disorders respond to a call for service, then once onscene have no place to take a person other than jail is nothing more than a failure of the system.Are there times when jail is the best or most appropriate option? Yes, but it is our experience thatthose may be few and far between.The first step is to provide Crisis Intervention Training to all first responders, both lawenforcement and fire department personnel (paramedics). This training brings together lawenforcement, first responders, mental health professionals and those with mental health issues tobetter understand and deal with those in crisis.The second step is to begin a nationwide expansion of a highly successful program of teaming upmental health professionals with law enforcement officers that work as an intercept firstresponder team. In Los Angeles County for instance we have had these teams since the 1990’s.Some other major cities and counties throughout the nation have some variation of this programand they are highly successful, but seriously overworked and understaffed. Most cities andcounties that operate such a program cannot provide the service 24-7 and in many places becauseof the geography it becomes very difficult to respond in a timely manner. However, in ourexperience when a team such as this is called to a scene, we have been able to divert theindividual away from the criminal justice system and into proper mental health treatmentfacilities in 99% of the encounters. We have just obtained critical funding from our County toexpand this program to provide for more teams and more coverage. In Los Angeles County alonein areas policed by the sheriff’s department, 911 calls involving people with mental illness havegrown 55% since 2010.In order to address this increase nationwide calls for service we, like other jurisdictions, needmore resources to expand these teams and we need help to expand proper mental healthtreatment centers.The third step, is diversion. That would include better training of district and city attorneys aswell as defense attorneys. There should also be dedicated mental health courts that couldrecommend better options for those in suffering from mental illness than jail or prison.Lastly, we need to have an adult conversation about what to do with those suffering from mentalillness that do end up in the criminal justice system and in our jails and prisons. As I statedearlier, our facilities across the nation are not built for, nor were designed to, house this type ofpopulation let alone provide treatment. We as a nation need to see clearly that not everyonesuffering from mental illness or other disabilities can be diverted and that some will end up inour jails. As such, we need to provide the most humane, modern and safest setting for them, sothey can receive the treatment and help they need.I want to thank the Subcommittee and its staff for all of their hard work and for affording me theopportunity to testify before you today. The MCSA and NSA seek to be a positive sources ofideas and I thank the Chairman for his commitment to collaboration and willingness to engagelocal law enforcement.

W E D N E S D A Y , M A Y 1 7 , 2 0 1 72 1 3 8 R A Y B U R N H O U S E O F F I C E B U I L D I N GW A S H I N G T O N , D . C . 2 0 5 1 5 – 6 2 1 6CHALLENGES FACINGLAW ENFORCEMENT INTHE 21 S T CENTURYALONZO THOMPSONCHIEF OF POLICECITY OF SPARTANBURG, SOUTH CAROLINA2 | P a g eAlonzo Thompson – CHALLENGES FACING LAW ENFORCEMENTGood morning. Mr. Chairman and members of the House Committee on the Judiciary’sSubcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations, I am honoredby the invitation to address this distinguished body.The “Challenges Facing Law Enforcement in the 21st Century” are numerous and varieddependent upon whether it is a local, state or federal entity. Domestic terrorism, gangs,illegal narcotics, gun violence, cyber-crimes, social media, behavioral health and highwaysafety issues pose significant challenges for law enforcement at all levels, and this is not anall-inclusive list by any means. In addition to those widely recognized concerns, there existthree pressing matters that are demanding our immediate attention, particularly at the locallevel: (1) Community-police relations, (2) Recruitment and Retention, and (3) BudgetaryRestraints. Our ability and capacity to respond appropriately and effectively to theaforementioned concerns are largely dependent upon how well we manage these threefoundational issues.

Highly publicized police-citizen encounters have gotten the attention of our nation.Increasingly, citizens are interested in how police departments operate and the decisionsmade by law enforcement practitioners. Now more than ever, questions about policeaccountability, police training (use of force), and organizational culture (implicit bias or racialprofiling) are common. As a result of the intense scrutiny, improving community-policerelations is paramount. Even agencies such as my own that have traditionally valued andfocused their efforts on community engagement must continually strive to strengthen thoserelationships and to build new ones. Public safety is the entire community’s responsibility,and we will not be as responsive or as successful without strong collaborative partnerships.With “baby boomers” retiring and shrinking applicant pools, recruiting and retention is astruggle for law enforcement agencies today. The inherent dangers of the profession and itsintense scrutiny and harsh criticism discourage some from entering and/or remaining in lawenforcement while others pursue more lucrative, less stressful and safer career fields.Minority recruitment poses even a greater challenge. Retention has been negatively impactedby tightening budgets that have resulted in stagnant wages, increased cost of employee3 | P a g ebenefits and limited performance based incentives and special skills pay. This funding issuesegues into the third and final challenge I wish to share with you this morning – budgetaryrestraints.In a climate where government bodies are plagued with lingering economic woes and areforced to make very difficult choices about their budgets, most police departments areunderfunded. Consequently, it has become increasingly difficult to compete with“Corporate America” for qualified applicants and to retain experienced personnel. We alsoface the growing necessity for advanced technology, for example body worn cameras, lessthan lethal weapons, integrated records management and interoperable communicationssystems; some are unfunded mandates. Leaders must figure out how to integrate thetechnological advancements into their agencies with limited funding. Many law enforcementagencies committed to equip officers with body-worn cameras which expanded theopportunities for officers to capture more of those critical police-citizen encounters. But,this technology comes with a cost. Additional funding from governmental sources will beneeded not only for equipment but for training that enhances the diversity consciousness oflaw enforcement professionals such as implicit bias, de-escalation, use of force and othersubject matters deemed necessary. Although the specific need(s) may vary, the challenge ordilemma is the same. There is increased scrutiny and greater expectations from the citizenry,but unfortunately there are less and/or inadequate resources and personnel to meet theirdemands.In conclusion, I reiterate these issues must be immediately addressed. Enhancingcommunity-police relations is fundamental to “local” law enforcement gathering informationand proactively combating crime and terrorism; this includes building communitypartnerships to solve an array of societal problems. Recruiting and retaining lawenforcement professionals at the local level will ensure that we have a highly trained andexperienced workforce to provide police-related services and conduct complexinvestigations, whether they involve criminal activity, terrorism, or a nexus between the two.We need enhanced capabilities to handle current issues as efficiently as possible and to giveus the time we need to look toward the future to anticipate and prepare for new crime trendsand emerging opportunities.4 | P a g eAgain, I appreciate the opportunity to share my views on the “Challenges Facing LawEnforcement in the 21st Century”. Thank you for your time.

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