H.R. 3372 — Law Enforcement Scenario-Based Training for Safety and De-Escalation Act of 2025

This section directs the Attorney General, acting through the Director of the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office), to develop by one year after enactment a scenario-based training curriculum for use with the grant program under section 3. In developing the curriculum, the Attorney General must (1) address improving community-police relations, officer safety, officer resilience, situational awareness, physical and emotional responses to stress, critical decision making and problem solving, de-escalation, use of force and deadly force, and crisis intervention; (2) consult with relevant professional law enforcement associations, community-based organizations, and defense and national security agencies; (3) provide expertise and technical assistance to entities seeking to implement the curriculum; (4) evaluate best practices in scenario-based training methods and content; and (5) develop a certification process for entities that successfully implement it.

This section authorizes the Attorney General, acting through the Director of the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office), beginning one year after enactment, to award grants to states, units of local government, Indian Tribal governments, other public and private entities, and multi-jurisdictional consortia to provide law enforcement personnel access to a scenario-based training curriculum substantially similar to that developed under section 2. Grantees must submit reports to the Attorney General one year after receiving funds on benefits, barriers, and recommendations for improving training access; the COPS Office must report to Congress one year after initial awards and annually thereafter on grantee numbers, proportion of trained personnel by state, benefits and barriers, and recommendations for the section 2 curriculum and grant program. The program receives no new appropriations and uses unobligated Department of Justice funds.

This section establishes definitions for terms used in the Act. It defines (1) community-based organization as a grassroots organization that works in communities to improve police accountability and transparency and has a national presence and membership; (2) professional law enforcement association as a law enforcement membership association that works for the needs of federal, state, local, or Indian tribal law enforcement groups and with the civilian community on matters of common interest; (3) scenario-based training as the use of live-action simulations and role playing to place law enforcement personnel in an interactive learning environment to replicate real-life scenarios or teach particular skills or techniques; and (4) state as any state of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and any possession of the United States.