Community-Law Enforcement Partnership Program. The Legislature created the Community Engagement Grant Project in 2021 to fund grants that facilitate community-law enforcement partnerships and improve police-community relations in Washington communities. It is administered by the Department of Commerce as the Community-Law Enforcement Partnership Program (CLEP).

Eligible Community-Law Enforcement Partnership Program Applicants. Applicants for the grant program must:

• be a public agency or nongovernmental organization;
• have demonstrated experience with community engagement initiatives that impact public safety;
• have community engagement and have established or be willing to establish a coordinated effort with committed partners, that must include law enforcement and organizations committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion of community members, including organizations whose leadership specifically reflects the communities most impacted by racism; and
• have established priorities, policies, and measurable goals in compliance with the requirements of the project.

Community-Law Enforcement Partnership Program Grant Activities. Among other requirements, a grant recipient must build substantive law enforcement and community partnerships, including:

• building trust by facilitating purposeful anti-racist practices;
• facilitating dialogue between law enforcement and community members to increase understanding of the impact of historical racist practices and current conflicts;
• educating community members on the role and function of law enforcement in the community;
• clarifying expectations of law enforcement and of the role of the community in crime prevention;
• educating community members on the best practices for reporting emergency and nonemergency activities; and
• recognizing community members for effective engagement and community leadership.

Adding Security Services and Hate Crime Prevention as Eligible Community-Law Enforcement Partnership Program Grant Activities. The following activities may be funded by a CLEP grant:

• partnering with off-duty law enforcement officers to provide or fund security services and hate crime prevention efforts at nonprofit religious schools, including synagogues and Jewish schools.

PRO: There has been a growth of hate crimes, particularly against religious institutions driven by the recent events in the Middle East. This bill will help address the concerns of these affected communities. Relationships formed by these grants will likely last past the grant period. The bill is not intended to prioritize one religion over another.