Dear Mr. Chairman and Senator Wicker,
I am writing on behalf of the members of the Fraternal Order of Police to ask you both for your help.
More than a year ago, the President signed the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023, into law. The law included the text of H.R. 8142, the “Department of Defense Law Enforcement Credential Act,” which was developed by the FOP and introduced by Representative Donald J. Bacon (R-NE). The provision requires all civilian law enforcement officers employed by the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) and its component agencies to be issued an appropriate law enforcement credential.
Within 180 days of enactment, the law requires the U.S. Secretary of Defense to develop and issue a standardized identification credential for DoD civilian law enforcement and ensure that any DoD Common Access Card (CAC) issued to such an officer clearly identifies the officer as a Defense law enforcement officer. To date, the Secretary has not complied with law pertaining to the CAC and, according to what our Federal DoD members have been told, there is no current effort being made to develop a standardized identification credential.
This is a critical officer safety issue for the civilian law enforcement officers who protect our military facilities, Armed Services personnel, their families and visitors to these installations. For law enforcement officers not to have the proper credentials clearly identifying them as law enforcement, especially when armed with firearms and police equipment, puts the safety of these officers in jeopardy when interacting with the general public or fellow officers from different agencies.
On behalf of the more than 373,000 members of the Fraternal Order of Police, I ask that the Committee on Armed Services exercise its power of the purse and oversight to ensure compliance with the Department of Defense Law Enforcement Credential Act. If I can provide any additional information about this issue or its critical importance to officer safety, please do not hesitate to contact me or Executive Director Jim Pasco in our Washington, D.C. office.
Sincerely,
Patrick Yoes
National President