NAPO meets with White House regarding FIRST STEP Act
On Aug . 16 , NAPO Executive Director Bill Johnson met with White House staff , including Jared Kushner , and other law enforcement leaders to discuss the law enforcement community ’ s near-unanimous opposition to the Formerly Incarcerated Reenter Society Transformed Safely Transitioning Every Person ( FIRST STEP ) Act ( H . R . 5682 / S . 2795 ).
This prison reform legislation was introduced on May 7 and moved quickly through the House , passing by an overwhelming vote on May 22 , without slowing down to get the input of the law enforcement community or to consider our serious concerns with the legislation . There has been great pressure to move this bill through the Senate and for the president to support its passage .
The legislation includes reckless retroactive increases in good time and program participation credits that would cause 4,000 inmates to be released into communities upon enactment . These inmates would not be given access to halfway houses or transition housing , nor would they benefit from any of the reentry programs normally provided by the Bureau of Prisons ( BOP ) to inmates who serve out their full prison terms , prior to their release .
Not only would thousands of inmates be released due to retroactive time credits , but the new system of time-off-sentence credits would reduce sentences for many criminals , including dangerous drug traffickers , by one-fourth to one-half .
The FIRST STEP Act is modeled after state prison reform programs that have a worse recidivism track record than current BOP programs . A recent report by the Bureau of Justice Statistics found the nine-year recidivism rate of state prisoners to be a staggering 83 percent . The study , titled “ 2018 Update on Prisoner Recidivism : A 9-Year Follow-up Period ( 2005-2014 ),” also found that 77 percent of released drug offenders were arrested for a non-drug crime within nine years , and 34 percent were arrested for a violent crime .
There is absolutely no doubt that these ill-advised proposals would harm public safety and lead directly to the injury and deaths of law enforcement officers and citizens alike . According to the FBI ’ s “ Uniform Crime Reporting , Crime in the U . S . 2016 ,” ( the latest data available ) the number of violent crimes , including murder , aggravated assaults and rapes , increased for the second straight year .
By raising our concerns to the White House and the president , we have successfully stalled the FIRST STEP Act . The president announced he would not endorse the prison reform bill until after the midterms , and we continue to work with opponents in the Senate and the administration to ensure that this legislation will not move forward .
NAPO files brief with U . S . Supreme Court in support of enhanced sentences for cop killers
On Aug . 7 , NAPO filed a new amicus curiae ( or “ friend of the court ”) brief with the U . S . Supreme Court in the case of Vernon Madison v . State of Alabama . In this case , Vernon Madison ambushed and murdered Mobile , Alabama Police Corporal Julius Schulte with two gunshots to the back of the officer ’ s head , as the officer was trying to protect Madison ’ s girlfriend from harm . Madison was convicted
and sentenced to death . The murder happened in April 1985 .
Madison now asserts that he cannot be put to death because he claims he can no longer remember the murder .
The State of Alabama reached out to NAPO for assistance in this case , and we filed this brief to assist Alabama and remind the court of the various state and federal laws ( including many NAPO has worked on at the federal level ) that provide enhanced punishment ( including the death penalty ) for assaults and murders of law enforcement officers .
NAPO urges inclusion of resources for police in opioid package
The Senate is considering a package of opioid-related legislation to address the significant drug crisis our country is facing and , unfortunately , the measure includes very little to support state and local law enforcement efforts to combat opioids in our communities .
According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse , more than 64,000 Americans died from drug overdoses in 2016 , and opioids were involved in more than 42,000 of those deaths . NAPO strongly believes that we can only truly mitigate the effects these toxic drugs have on our communities through a comprehensive strategy that includes resources for state and local law enforcement .
Fentanyl , particularly illicitly manufactured fentanyl , and other synthetic drugs are having deadly consequences on communities across the country , and local law enforcement officers are on the front line in the fight against these drugs . Because illicit fentanyl is so powerful , small amounts go a long way for drug traffickers . These relatively small and potent amounts mean that fentanyl is difficult and hazardous to detect , making it easy to traffic and a danger to those trying to stop its spread into our communities .
To ensure that state and local law enforcement have the resources needed to identify and fight the diffusion of opioids , NAPO is working with the sponsors of the Providing Officers with Electronic Resources ( POWER ) Act ( S . 2763 ), Senators Sherrod Brown ( D-OH ) and Rob Portman ( R-OH ), to push Senate leadership to include the bill in the opioid package .
The POWER Act will help state and local law enforcement detect fentanyl and protect people from accidental overdoses by using the same screening equipment Customs and Border Protection ( CBP ) agents have successfully used to stop fentanyl at the border . This legislation would support state and local law enforcement efforts to conduct drug investigations and prosecute drug crimes by providing essential funding for agencies to purchase chemical screening devices .
NAPO believes rank-and-file law enforcement officers must be given the training , resources and support necessary to keep themselves and the communities they serve safe in the fight to end the opioid crisis . The inclusion of the POWER Act in the opioid package would go a long way toward supporting law enforcement efforts . The Senate is expected to vote on the package next week , and we will keep our members updated . d
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period to file for arbitration ; you should not let the vetting process cause an untimely filing .
If the PBA is in danger of an untimely filing , it can always file for arbitration and withdraw it later . Many grievances implicate broad PBA rights , and the PBA will have a vested interest in advancing the grievance . A group decision will reduce the chance of a personal animosity or nonmembership in the PBA bleeding into a decision-maker ’ s thinking . Also , by following a consistent process that applies to all covered officers without regard to union membership , the PBA will greatly reduce the risk of a claim for breach of the duty of fair representation .
Although there is no way to completely prevent a unit member from suing for breach of the duty of fair representation , taking the above precautions and dealing with member concerns in good faith will reduce the likelihood that the PBA will be found liable for a breach of the duty of fair representation . d
James M . Mets , Esq ., is a partner and Brian J . Manetta , Esq ., is a senior associate at Mets Schiro & McGovern , LLP .
28 NEW JERSEY COPS ■ SEPTEMBER 2018