Fully fund the COPS program

Money in stimulus and budget for COPS

Updated: Tuesday, May 19th, 2009 | By Robert Farley

The COPS program, which helps local agencies pay for more police officers, was a pet project of Vice President Joe Biden. Back in 1994, Biden championed the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act which sought — through the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) — to put 100,000 additional police officers on America's streets. However, funding was drastically reduced and the the program faltered under the Bush administration, which cited a General Accounting Office report that questioned the cost-effectiveness of the program in reducing crime.

As president, Barack Obama has taken several steps to restore the COPS program.

The economic stimulus package approved by Obama in February included $1 billion for COPS hiring grants, to fund the hiring of more than 7,000 police and sheriffs deputies in 2009 and 2010. The Obama administration's proposed 2010 budget also included $298 million for COPS hiring grants, with an eye toward moving closer to the goal of hiring 50,000 police officers nationwide.

And in April, the House authorized an additional $1.8 billion a year over the next five tears for the COPS grant program, including $1.25 billion for hiring and the rest for prosecutors, crime-fighting technology and aid to high-crime communities.

That puts this promise firmly In the Works.

Sources: Newsday, "Obama's first 100 Days," April 24, 2009

Orlando Sentinel, "House OKs 50,000 'cops on streets,'" by David Lightman, April 24, 2009

Office of Management and Budget, "President's Budget: Fact Sheets on Key Issues"