Thursday, May 17, 2007
Legislation supported by Congresswoman Doris O. Matsui (CA-05) to put 50,000 more police officers on our nation’s streets – including an estimated 523 new police officers to fight crime across the
Sacramento region – passed the House of Representatives on May 15, 2007. The COPS (Community Oriented Policing Service) Improvement Act of 2007, H.R. 1700, comes as crime is on the rise in
Sacramento and across the nation, according to recent FBI statistics.
Praising the legislation, Congresswoman Matsui said, “I am pleased that after years of cuts to the COPS program, the new Congress has made it a priority to assist local law enforcement agencies in hiring more officers for our communities.
Sacramento city leaders and I have made fighting crime a top goal. This infusion of COPS funds will allow police departments around the
Sacramento region to hire over 520 more police officers.”
The COPS hiring program has been one of the most successful law enforcement initiatives in the nation’s history. To date, COPS has put almost 120,000 more officers on the street nationwide, including 1,224 in
California’s Fifth Congressional District. The COPS hiring program was initiated in 1994, during the
Clinton administration, and at its peak it provided $1 billion in critically-needed law-enforcement funds. Unfortunately, President Bush has repeatedly attempted to eliminate federal support for the COPS initiative, and Congress has been forced to restore funding for it during each annual budget cycle.
H.R. 1700 reinvigorates the highly successful program. It calls for putting 50,000 additional police officers on the street over the next 6 years – authorizing $600 million a year for COPS hiring grants. It also authorizes $350 million a year for COPS technology grants, and $200 million a year for hiring community prosecutors. Lastly, the bill contains provisions to encourage state and local police agencies to hire former military members for some of the new law enforcement jobs under the bill.
The COPS Improvement Act has been endorsed by the International Association of Chiefs of Police, the National Sheriffs Association, the Fraternal Order of Police, the National Association of Police Organizations, the U.S. Conference of Mayors, and the National League of Cities.
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