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Wednesday, July 20, 2011

House Judiciary Committee Approves Pierluisi Bill Requiring Department of Justice to Establish Program to Recruit and Retain Federal Law Enforcement Officers in Puerto Rico

Washington, DC- The House Judiciary Committee today approved legislation introduced by Resident Commissioner Pedro Pierluisi that directs the U.S. Department of Justice to establish to a program to recruit, assign, and retain agents to serve in locations that have experienced high rates of violent crime, so those jurisdictions can better combat criminal activity.

The bill was approved by voice voice, without objection from any member of the Committee.

“The evidence strongly suggests that recruitment and retention of federal law enforcement officers poses a major challenge. The struggle to fill these critical positions—and to keep them filled—is particularly acute in many jurisdictions that are experiencing a high rate of murders and other violent crimes. In fact, the high incidence of crime in a jurisdiction often deters a federal law enforcement officer from seeking assignment in that jurisdiction and frequently leads to early turnover, at great expense to the employing agency,” Pierluisi explained in his statement to the Committee.

Pierluisi observed that in Puerto Rico, a jurisdiction that has an unacceptably high homicide rate, the Department of Justice’s component agencies have vacancy rates between 15% and 57%. In part because of those vacancy rates, Puerto Rico has only 31 federal law enforcement officers for every 100,000 residents, well below the national average of 36.

“Puerto Rico is not alone with respect to this situation. Louisiana, Maryland, and South Carolina, for example, all have rates of murder and violent crime that exceeded the national average, yet had fewer federal law enforcement officers per 100,00 residents than the national average,” said Pierluisi.

“In the face of these challenges, it would be prudent for the federal government to develop a comprehensive plan to recruit, assign, and retain law enforcement officers in those jurisdictions that have the highest rates of murder or other violent crime. The federal government cannot be passive in filling law enforcement shortages,” added the Resident Commissioner.

During the hearing, various members of the Committee, both Republican and Democrat, urged support for Pierluisi’s legislation, including Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas), who stated that “Mr. Pierluisi is always fighting for the interests of Puerto Rico.” In addition, Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Wisconsin), the Chairman of the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security, described the legislation as a “good bill” and congratulated the Resident Commissioner. The Ranking Democratic Member on the Committee, John Conyers (D-Michigan), said that Pierluisi “has the courage to point out problems existing in our communities” and Bobby Scott (D-Virginia) acknowledged the work of the Resident Commissioner.