DICKINSON, N.D. – U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp today announced that during National Police Week the president signed into law two bills, and the Senate passed another that she supported to honor the service and sacrifice of peace officers in North Dakota and across the country by making sure they have the resources to remain safe on the job and protect their communities.

The bills, which Heitkamp helped pass in the U.S. Senate, continue her decades long work of standing up for and working closely with law enforcement officers, including during her time as North Dakota’s Attorney General. The first bill will boost tools for law enforcement officers to go after foreign drug traffickers who try to skirt the law from beyond our borders and whose products have often ended up in North Dakota as drug crime has skyrocketed in the state. The second bill will allow local officers to access bulletproof vests to help make sure they return home safely each night to their families. The Senate also passed a bill Heitkamp supported that will expand community law enforcement funding to include active-shooter training programs.

“North Dakota’s peace keeping officers like Fargo Police Officer Jason Moszer, who passed away in the line of duty earlier this year, put their lives on the line each day to protect the communities they love,” said Heitkamp. “As we honor their service and sacrifice, we must also bolster their efforts and help make sure they get home to their families each night. Since serving as North Dakota’s Attorney General, I’ve both worked closely with our peace officers – who are truly on the front lines of our criminal justice system – and mourned with the families they sometimes leave behind in the line of duty. To give them the support they deserve, two key Senate-passed bills were signed into law by the president that reinforce our commitment to keeping our law enforcement officers, our families, and our communities strong and safe. Thank you to North Dakota’s and our peace officers who deserve our support and gratitude every day as they continue to protect our communities.”

Heitkamp helped cosponsor the bills which passed in the Senate that will:

• Provide federal law enforcement with tools to tackle international drug crime: Heitkamp helped introduce and pass the bipartisan Transnational Drug Trafficking Act which she cosponsored and pushed for, that unanimously passed in the Senate to close federal loopholes preventing law enforcement from going after and prosecuting drug traffickers who concoct substances that they know – or believe will be – used to peddle illegal narcotics within the United States, before the drugs reach our shores. Too often these products end up in North Dakota as drug abuse and crime have drastically risen in the state.

• Protect officers by supplying them with life-saving safety vests:  Heitkamp has long advocated for policies that secure the best possible tools for law enforcement and emergency responders teams who put their lives on the line to protect our communities, and strongly backed Senate-passed legislation to make sure that law enforcement officers are equipped with bullet-proof safety vests to make sure they can come home each night to their families.

• Expand community law enforcement protection services: Heitkamp supported and help pass the bipartisan Protecting Our Lives by Initiating COPS Expansion Act of 2016 in the U.S. Senate to broaden the ability of communities to use Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) program resources to prepare for potential threats posed by active shooters. Heitkamp has long supported strong investments in COPS programs, helping secure funding for Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa’s crime prevention efforts, as well as new law enforcement roles and police officer positions in West Fargo, Tioga, Stutsman and Griggs Counties.

Since serving as North Dakota’s Attorney General, Heitkamp has long supported efforts to honor and protect local law enforcement in North Dakota and across the nation. Last June, the president signed into law the National Blue Alert system bill she supported and helped pass in the U.S. Senate which would help quickly disseminate information about suspects who are believed to pose an immediate threat to law enforcement officers, or who are wanted in relation to the disappearance or the killing or an officer. Heitkamp has consistently worked to recognize the tireless work of police officers, and supported designating of the week of May 15 through May 21, 2016 as National Police Week. Heitkamp also supported designating the week of May 9 last year as National Police Week.

In 2014, Heitkamp launched her Strong & Safe Communities Initiative to help address some of the emerging challenges facing the state by bringing a greater focus to keeping North Dakota's communities strong and families safe in their homes, including better supporting local law enforcement officers. By convening a Strong & Safe Communities Task Force comprised of North Dakotans from across the state who have strong understandings of many of the new and emerging safety challenges the state faces – such as increases in drug-related crimes and other issues – the group is working together to offer recommendations to help make sure North Dakota's communities remain strong and safe for decades to come.

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