During National Police Week, the Senate Judiciary Committee passed several law enforcement related bills. The full Senate also passed a resolution recognizing law enforcement and fallen officers introduced by Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and cosponsored by all 99 other U.S. Senators. In both the House of Representatives and the Senate, law enforcement legislation was also introduced.

According to a Department of Justice (DOJ) press release from May 14, 2021, three Peruvian nationals pleaded guilty to conspiring to defraud thousands of Spanish-speaking U.S. residents. Omar Cuzcano Marroquin, 32, Jerson Renteria Gonzales, 37, and Evelyng Milla Campuzano, 35, each of Lima, Peru used Peruvian call centers to extort Spanish-speaking individuals in the US for money, threatening them with arrest and deportation if they did not comply.

ICYMI- Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta delivered a message on 3nd annual Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Day Against Bullying and Hate. She says hatred has no place in America and we should continue to strive for diversity and inclusion.

Today, as a profession, we face what seems like insurmountable challenges. Society as a whole is also in upheaval. Accusations fly against each other without thought and the police are often caught in the middle. There is nothing new in that. The police have always been used to solve problems quickly. The problem with this is that police solve problems by making arrests.

The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit described the litigation of a case it adjudicated on May 14, 2021 as “the decade-long journey of a hard-working man who served his country honorably, only to face workplace discrimination on the basis of that service.” In its opinion, the Federal Circuit held that the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) erred in finding that the candidate’s nonselection for a position at the Department of the Navy would have occurred “regardless of his prior military service.”

In today’s tumultuous political environment, federal law enforcement officers need to leverage every aspect of their skillset in order to succeed on the job. The issues, questions and challenges facing the federal community and federal law enforcement officers in particular seem to become more complex, varied, and dynamic by the day. Government agencies and successful companies are increasingly seeking more people with high emotional intelligence (EQ).

This week, from May 9-May 15, 2021, is National Police Week. National Police Week, along with Peace Officers Memorial Day, which is on May 15th every year, was started by President John F. Kennedy in 1962 and honors law enforcement officers who lost their lives or were disabled in the line of duty. President Joe Biden issued a proclamation on May 7, 2021 regarding Peace Officers Memorial Day and Police Week 2021.

President Joe Biden signed an executive order on Wednesday to improve national cybersecurity in an effort to combat future cyberattacks. The order follows the SolarWinds and Microsoft Exchange cyberattacks impacting federal agencies as well as the recent Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack that caused states of emergency in several states.

Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas recently announced the creation of a new Center for Prevention Programs and Partnerships (CP3) that aims to combat terrorism and other forms of targeted violence.

According to a Department of Justice (DOJ) press release dated May 11, 2021, Jessica Palacio, 34, of Miami, FL was charged with conspiring to falsify clinical trial data surrounding asthma medication for children. She worked as a study coordinator at a clinical trial firm called Unlimited Medical Research.

ICYMI: Listen in as AG Merrick Garland recognizes the nation’s law enforcement in honor of National Police Week. He applauded law enforcement officers and their families for all of their hard work and sacrifice for the people of the United States.

In 2007, the Louisville office of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) conducted an investigation which led to the seizure of drugs and money and the convictions of Byron Mayes and brothers Julio and Alfredo Rivas-Lopez. Flash forward to 2016, and all three drug dealers were out of prison.

In a House Committee on Homeland Security Subcommittee on Transportation and Marine Security hearing on May 4, Democrats urged their colleagues to support legislation that would extend Title 5 employment protections to Transportation Security Administration (TSA) screeners.

The Biden administration is launching a new inter-agency operation, dubbed Operation Sentinel, targeting transnational criminal human smuggling organizations against the backdrop of Border Patrol locating 250 migrants who died during their journey in Fiscal Year 2020.

In a May 5, 2021 letter to Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, Senator Rob Portman (R-OH), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs, and Representative John Katko (R-NY), Ranking Member of the House Committee on Homeland Security, expressed their concerns with the increased number of targeted attacks on federal law enforcement officers and federal facilities.

According to a Department of Justice press release dated May 5, 2021, two former city officials in Calexico, California were sentenced to two years in prison for accepting bribes in return for a city permit to open a cannabis dispensary. The defendants were caught by an undercover FBI agent.

WAEPA has been serving Civilian Federal Employees and their families with affordable group term life insurance for over 75 years. To continue making your needs our mission, we are pleased to provide a new product, Group Short-Term Disability Insurance,* which provides income replacement to federal employees who are temporarily out of work due to a covered short-term illness or injury.

Today, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) issued guidance to agencies on COVID-19 Emergency Paid Leave, which was authorized in March when Congress approved the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.

All federal employee official travel, including for those who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, remains limited to travel that is mission critical, according to recently updated Safer Federal Workforce Task Force guidance.