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Law Enforcement Congressional Badge of Bravery

NCJ Number
240145
Date Published
November 2011
Length
2 pages
Annotation
This report explains the provisions of the Federal Law Enforcement Congressional Badge of Bravery Act of 2008 (the Act), which authorizes Congress to award the Badge of Bravery to Federal, State, local, and tribal law enforcement officers who have performed acts of bravery in the line of duty.
Abstract
These badges are awarded annually, and they are typically jointly presented by the recipients' congressional representatives. In order to receive the Law Enforcement Congressional Badge of Bravery, officers' agency heads must submit a nomination between December 15 and February 15, using the online Congressional Badge of Bravery application system. Under the Act, two boards have been created to review nominations, the Federal Law Enforcement Congressional Badge of Bravery Board and the State and Local Law Enforcement Congressional Badge of Bravery Board. The eligibility requirements are that a nominated officer must have either sustained a physical injury in a line-of-duty act that involved personal risk, or performed a task without injury that is characterized as bravery (the officer risked personal injury or death) by the agency head making the nomination. The Congressional Badge of Bravery Office is located within the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of Justice Programs' Bureau of Justice Assistance. This office receives nominations from agency heads on behalf of the boards that will assess the nomination and decide whether or not to issue an award.