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H.R. 8849House119th Congress (2025-2027)In Committee

Promoting Police Leadership Act

Sponsored by Russell FryRep. Russell Fry (R-SC)
Introduced May 15, 2026

AI-Generated Summary

Updated June 2, 2026 at 6:51 AM UTC

The Promoting Police Leadership Act amends the 1968 Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act to improve the COPS program by establishing a national training and certification system for police command‑level personnel. It defines who counts as command‑level officers, requires the Attorney General to develop or adopt curricula covering leadership, incident response, wellness, data‑driven policing, and community trust, and sets up certification, reporting, and oversight mechanisms. The bill affects state, local, and tribal law‑enforcement agencies and preserves existing state and local training authority.

Key Provisions

  • Adds a definition of “command‑level personnel” as law‑enforcement officers who manage or oversee operations within a sub‑area of a state, local, or tribal agency.
  • Directs the Attorney General to create or identify training curricula for those command‑level officers on topics such as leadership, strategic thinking, critical‑incident response, risk management, officer wellness, data‑driven policing, evidence‑based decision making, and building community trust.
  • Requires the curricula to be delivered mainly in‑person with peer‑to‑peer learning, include a practical problem‑solving component, and use pre‑ and post‑course assessments to measure knowledge and leadership skills.
  • Mandates the Attorney General to set up a certification process for training programs that use the new curricula, to certify qualifying courses, and to withdraw certification from programs that don’t meet standards.
  • Calls for the Attorney General to work with law‑enforcement agencies, universities, and other relevant entities when developing the curricula and to ensure certified programs partner with educational institutions for ongoing improvement.
  • Requires the Attorney General, within one year, to publish a list showing each agency’s total officers and how many have completed the certified training.
  • Orders the Attorney General to report annually to Congress for three years on the development, implementation, and effectiveness of the training, and to include recommendations and identified barriers.
  • Directs the Government Accountability Office to review the Attorney General’s actions and the certification process within three years and report its findings to Congress.
  • Clarifies that the Act does not override state or local authority to set their own police training and certification standards.

Legislative Activity

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HouseIntro Referral Latest Action

Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.

Judiciary Committee

May 15, 2026

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HouseIntro Referral

Introduced in House

May 15, 2026

HouseIntro Referral

Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.

Judiciary Committee

May 15, 2026

Bill Text

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Introduced in HouseIssued May 15, 2026

I

119th CONGRESS

2d Session

H. R. 8849

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

May 15, 2026

Mr. Fry (for himself and Mr. Gottheimer) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

A BILL

To amend the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to improve the COPS program with respect to training command-level personnel, and for other purposes.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Promoting Police Leadership Act.

2.

Commander curriculum development

(a)

Definitions

Section 901(a) of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10251(a)) is amended—

(1)

in paragraph (32), by striking and at the end;

(2)

in paragraph (33), by striking the period at the end and inserting a semicolon; and

(3)

by adding at the end the following:

(34)

the term command-level personnel means law enforcement officers employed by a State, local, or Tribal law enforcement agency whose responsibilities include managing, directing, or overseeing law enforcement operations within a geographic subunit of the jurisdiction in which such agency has primary responsibility for law enforcement activities.

.

(b)

COPS program

Section 1701 of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10381) is amended by adding at the end the following:

(q)

Training in improving police command-Level personnel leadership, management, and effectiveness

(1)

Training curricula

(A)

In general

Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this subsection, the Attorney General shall develop training curricula or identify effective existing training curricula for command-level personnel relating to—

(i)

leadership and strategic thinking;

(ii)

critical incident response and management, including understanding, preparing for, and responding to the effect of critical incidents on officers and communities;

(iii)

risk management;

(iv)

officer wellness;

(v)

data analysis and data-driven policing tactics;

(vi)

evidence-based decision making; and

(vii)

building community trust.

(B)

Requirements

The training curricula developed or identified under this paragraph shall include—

(i)

primarily in-person instruction and peer-to-peer learning;

(ii)

a framework for a practical, evidence-based problem solving component under which participating command-level personnel—

(I)

identify and develop a proposed solution to a leadership, operational, or management challenge relevant to personnel in the command-level personnel’s employing law enforcement agency;

(II)

receive feedback from curriculum instructors and other participating command-level personnel to refine the proposed solution accordingly to meet the needs of the law enforcement agency and community served; and

(III)

present a final, implementable product emphasizing evidence-based strategies to program instructors and the command-level personnel’s district or geographic command; and

(iii)

the incorporation of pre-course and post-course assessments to measure knowledge acquisition and leadership competencies relevant to the training curricula.

(C)

Consultation

The Attorney General shall develop and identify training curricula under this paragraph in consultation with relevant law enforcement agencies of States and units of local government, universities with appropriate law-enforcement or leadership programs, and any other entities the Attorney General determines appropriate.

(2)

Certified programs and courses

(A)

In general

Not later than 180 days after the date on which training curricula are developed or identified under paragraph (1), the Attorney General shall establish a process to—

(i)

certify training programs and courses offered to command-level personnel which incorporate 1 or more of the training curricula developed or identified under paragraph (1), or equivalents to such training curricula, which may include certifying training programs or courses offered on or before the date on which the Attorney General establishes the process; and

(ii)

terminate the certification of a training program or course that fails to meet the standards developed or identified under paragraph (1).

(B)

Partnerships with educational institutions

Not later than 180 days after the date on which training curricula are developed or identified under paragraph (1), the Attorney General shall develop criteria to ensure that entities which offer training programs or courses that are certified under subparagraph (A) collaborate with educational institutions to evaluate and continuously improve the curricula and coursework of those educational institutions.

(3)

List

Not later than 1 year after the date on which the Attorney General completes the activities required under paragraphs (1) and (2), the Attorney General shall publish a list of law enforcement agencies of States and units of local government employing law enforcement officers who have successfully completed a course using the training curricula developed or identified under paragraph (1), or equivalents to such training curricula, which shall include—

(A)

the total number of law enforcement officers that are employed by the law enforcement agency; and

(B)

the number of law enforcement officers who have completed such a course.

.

3.

Attorney General reports

(1)

In general

Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter until the date that is 3 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Attorney General shall submit to Congress a report on the activities carried out as a result of the amendments made under section 2.

(2)

Contents

Each report under paragraph (1) shall include, at a minimum, information on—

(A)

steps taken by the Attorney General to develop or identify curricula under section 1701(q)(1) of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968, as added by section 2;

(B)

any assessments conducted or identified by the Attorney General on the effectiveness and utilization of curricula developed or identified under section 1701(q)(1) of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968, as added by section 2;

(C)

recommendations for curriculum updates and improvements; and

(D)

barriers to training implementation.

4.

GAO report

Not later than 3 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States shall—

(1)

conduct a review of the actions taken by the Attorney General pursuant to this Act and the amendments made by this Act; and

(2)

submit to Congress a report on the review conducted under paragraph (1), which shall include a description of—

(A)

the process for developing and identifying curricula under section 1701(q)(1) of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968, as added by section 2, including the effectiveness of the consultation by the Attorney General with the agencies, associations, and organizations identified under that section; and

(B)

the certification of training programs and courses under section 1701(q)(2) of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968, as added by section 2, including the development of the process for certification and its implementation.

5.

State certifications and training standards

Nothing in this Act, or an amendment made by this Act, shall be construed to preempt or replace the authority of any State or local government, including any Peace Officer Standards and Training entity or similar certifying body, to set and enforce certification, training, or qualification standards for law enforcement officers.