WASHINGTON –Several U.S. Senators introduced a bipartisan bill into legislation Thursday to help protect state and local police officers during drug investigations.
The Providing Officers with Electronic Resources Act would establish a new grant program through the U.S. Department of Justice to help state and local law enforcement organizations secure high-tech, portable screening devices.
Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., joined U.S. Sens. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, Rob Portman, R-Ohio, Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., and Ed Markey, D-Mass., in introducing the bipartisan legislation.
The screening equipment, according to a press release from Capito’s office, would help officers to “quickly detect dangerous drugs–like the deadly synthetic opioid fentanyl–so that they can investigate appropriately.”
These devices, also known as interdiction devices, are designed to enhance both officer safety and the efficiency of investigations, enabling law enforcement professionals to better respond to the drug crisis in America, according to information on the bill.
“The illicit synthetic opioid fentanyl–which is up to 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times stronger that morphine–is fueling record levels of drug overdoses and presents an uprecedented safety risk to officers and first responders,” information on the bill said.
Capito said law enforcement officers are often the frontlines of efforts to combat illegal drugs, contributing to the opioid epidemic.
“As the opioid epidemic continues to harm communities in West Virginia, the POWER Act will help detect and stop the flow of fentanyl and other synthetic opioids,” Capito said in the press release. “This legislation will support our local law enforcement–who are often times at the front lines fighting this epidemic–by providing them with the tools necessary to keep these deadly drugs out of our communities. I will continue working with my colleagues to advance solutions like the POWER Act, which will go a long way in saving lives and curbing the drug crisis.”
These devices are already widely used by federal law enforcement to identify dangerous drugs at U.S. ports of entry. They use laser technology to analyze potentially harmful substances–even through some packaging–and identify those substances based on a library of thousands of compounds that are categorized within the device.
The POWER Act gives law enforcement officers access to the same high-tech screening devices secured for Customs and Border Protection agents in their INTERDICT Act. President Donald Trump signed INTERDICT into law this year.
The POWER Act is supported by the National Sheriffs’ Association, Fraternal Order of Police, Major Cities Chiefs Association, Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association, National Association of Police Organizations, National HIDTA Directors Association, Sergeants Benevolent Association, International Union of Police Associations, National Narcotics Officers’ Associations’ Coalition, National Alliance of State Drug Enforcement Agencies, National Tactical Officers Association, Buckeye State Sheriffs’ Association and Ohio Fraternal Order of Police.