Back to news

U.S. Dept. of Justice (DoJ) and the Federal Interagency – Law Enforcement Equipment Working Group Briefing

July 31, 2015

Manny Ovalle, Director at Large, represented HAPCOA on July 8, 2015 to discuss recommendations pursuant to Pres. Obama’s Executive Order 13688:  Federal Support for Local Law Enforcement Equipment Acquisition.

The Working Group, on an ongoing basis, will evaluate all suggestions and/or recommendations relating to the President’s Executive Order.

SPECIFIC ISSUES DISCUSSED:        

1.   Possible Recall of Prohibitive Equipment

  • Tabled until next meeting.

2.   Breadth of Controlled Equipment List

  • Working Group agreed that the list of the controlled equipment lists must be expanded.

3.   General Policing and Specific Controlled Equipment Standards Guidance

  • Tabled until next meeting.

4.   Training Requirements

  • It was suggested that LEAs train on their own policies.

5.   Significant Incident Reports for Non-Federally Acquired Controlled Equipment

  • There were some philosophical differences among the members  of the Working Group (i.e., a few LEAs wanted to keep their incident reports in-house; the federal providers wanted to know how and why the non-federally controlled equipment was used).

6.   Local Civilian Government Review

  • Offered as a means for LEAs to communicate with their communities.  Police civilian academies is one example of government review and education.

PLANS FOR FUTURE ENGAGEMENTS

  • The Working Group will conduct annual reviews.
  • Federal government agencies not included in Executive Order 13688 have adopted policies that are similar to the LE Working Group.
  •  LE officers at the street level want to be heard.
  • Citizens need protection and education on understanding the use of LEA controlled equipment in their communities.

Recent Articles

NCIS personnel, including Deputy Director for Operations Christopher McMahon, attended the 2023 Hispanic American PoliceRead More

Read

In conjunction with Hapcoa’s 50th Annual National Training Symposium, we hosted a career and exhibitRead More

Read

During the 50th Anniversary symposium organized by the Hispanic American Command Officers Association (HAPCOA) inRead More

Read