S. 768 — Invest to Protect Act of 2025

This section establishes within the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office) of the Department of Justice a grant program, to be awarded by the Director not later than 120 days after enactment, to provide training and mental health resources to law enforcement officers and to improve their recruitment and retention in eligible local governments (i.e., counties, municipalities, townships, or Tribal governments employing fewer than 175 officers). It requires the Attorney General to submit to Congress, not later than 60 days after enactment, a report identifying barriers to and a plan for a streamlined grant application process completable in no more than two hours, including proactive data guidance and technical assistance; the Director must use this process in awarding grants. Grant recipients may use funds only for (1) de-escalation training; (2) victim-centered domestic violence training; (3) evidence-based safety training for active shooters, illicit drugs, rescues, ambushes, or responses involving persons with mental health needs, substance use disorders, veterans, disabilities, vulnerable youth, domestic/sexual assault/trafficking victims, or those experiencing homelessness or poverty; (4) overtime costs for certain trainings; (5) signing bonuses; (6) retention bonuses up to 20% of salary for officers employed five or more years without serious misconduct who commit to three more years; (7) graduate education stipends in mental health, public health, or social work not exceeding $10,000 or the officer's payment; (8) officer access to behavioral health services (e.g., PTSD treatment, peer support, telehealth); (9) lethal/nonlethal force training; (10) duty-to-intervene training; and (11) data collection on officer and community safety practices. The Director must establish reasonable reporting requirements for recipients to support program evaluation.