Invest to Protect Act of 2025

This bill creates a grant program to help small local and Tribal police departments (those with fewer than 175 officers). The goal is to improve training, officer mental health, and hiring and retention. The Justice Department’s community policing office would run the program.

Departments could use funds for things like de-escalation and safety training, responding to calls involving mental health or substance use, domestic violence training, and data collection to improve officer and community safety. Grants could also support officer mental health care, signing and retention bonuses (with limits and conditions), and small education stipends for graduate study in fields like mental health or social work. The bill requires public disclosure of any signing or retention bonuses paid with these grants, and sets up audits and penalties to prevent waste or misuse of funds. It authorizes up to $50 million per year for fiscal years 2027–2031.

• Who is affected: Small city, county, and Tribal police departments, and the communities they serve.
• What changes: Easier, faster grant applications; more training and safety tools; access to mental health services; limited signing/retention bonuses with public reporting; audits to ensure accountability .
• When: Grants begin after the bill becomes law; funding is authorized for 2027–2031 .