FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, March 2, 2007

Senate Approves Creation Of Rural Policing Institute

WASHINGTON— U.S. Senators Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., and Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., today praised Senate approval of an amendment they co-sponsored to S.4, the “Improving America's Security Act of 2007,” to assist law enforcement personnel by creating a special, rural-focused law enforcement training institute that would be administered by the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center, known as FLETC, located in Glynco, Ga.  The amendment was overwhelming approved by a 82 to 1 vote.

Both Senators sponsored a similar measure during the last Congress and successfully amended the Port Security Bill to include the creation of a Rural Policing Institute. It was removed from the bill during negotiations to resolve differences between the House and the Senate versions of the bill.                                 

“As we continue to call upon our rural law enforcement to do more, we must provide them with access to specialized training where it otherwise would not be available,” said Chambliss.  “In many areas, increased crime and the scourge of methamphetamine drug trafficking requires these dedicated and hard-working professionals to prepare for different types of threats in our changing security environment.  This amendment will greatly assist in their efforts to keep Georgia families safe.”

“By having a program where we can send instructors to these rural police departments, we maximize our training capabilities and ensure that these officers are able to receive on the job training without reducing manpower,” Isakson said. “This program is a win-win for our law enforcement personnel, for FLETC and for the American taxpayer.”  

Rural law enforcement agencies often face a difficult challenge in receiving up-to-date training, with tight budgets and small staffs frequently forced to make a choice between training opportunities and keeping officers on the street.  The Rural Policing Institute is unique in that experts will be deployed directly to rural communities and provide at-home training on a local level for individuals who may not otherwise have access to specialized training opportunities.

The Rural Policing Institute would be administered by FLETC, which is currently the training hub for over 80 federal agencies. FLETC also houses the Office of State and Local Training, a convenient infrastructure for exporting training expertise to local law enforcement agencies.  Each year, staff from FLETC’s Office of State and Local Training travel to approximately 30 states and put on over 60 training programs.

Building off of the success of the Office of State and Local Training, the Rural Policing Institute would be empowered to work with rural law enforcement agencies to assess training needs specific to rural law enforcement, develop and export specially-tailored rural training programs and work to ensure these rural law enforcement agencies are aware of new training opportunities. 

The bill is also sponsored by U.S. Senators Ken Salazar, D-Colo., and Mark Pryor, D-Ark.