Speaking in Orlando at the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) conference Tuesday, Attorney General Eric Holder unveiled a new Justice Department program aimed at improving the safety of on-duty law enforcement officers.
The DOJ has set aside $800,000 to develop training and technical assistance programs under the new Preventing Violence Against Law Enforcement and Ensuring Officer Resilience and Survivability (VALOR) initiative, Holder said.
The program will train law enforcement officers how to deal with high-risk situations.
“Through VALOR and related efforts, the department will support much-needed research and analysis of violent encounters, and officer deaths and injuries,” Holder said. “And we’ll use this information to provide law enforcement with the latest information, and most effective tools and training, to respond to a range of threats – including ambush-style assaults.”
In addition to the VALOR initiative, the Bureau of Justice Assistance awarded nearly $500,000 to IACP to help launch the Center for the Prevention of Violence Against the Police, designed to “serve as a clearinghouse for information on emerging trends and best practices in reducing officer injuries”, according to the Attorney General.
Holder also announced the expansion of the DOJ’s Smart Policing program to six new sites. The Smart Policing program targets a crime problem that can be replicated by law enforcement agencies nationwide.
Altogether, the DOJ has committed more than $40 million for officer safety programs in 2010, Holder said.
Since last October, 163 officers have been killed in the line of duty nationwide, an increase after a 50-year low reached last year when 48 law enforcement officers were murdered while on duty.
