April 28, 2009

Today, U.S. Rep. Ed Perlmutter (CO-07) announced the 7th Congressional District would be able to hire 209 new police officers under the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) act recently passed by the House. The bill is awaiting a hearing in the Senate.

This bill will breathe new life into the highly successful Community Oriented Policing Services by authorizing $1.25 billion per year to put 50,000 more law enforcement officers on the street over the next five years. This bill also allows for $550 million per year for the next five years to be used for technology grants and community prosecutors.

“This program has proven to be successful when fully funded. Independent studies confirm previous COPS hiring grants helped reduce crime. Under this program, my district alone will be able to hire 209 new police officers,” said Perlmutter.

According to the Police Executive Research Forum, the recession hit local law enforcement agencies especially hard forcing many to implement a hiring freeze and delay classes for new recruits. Furthermore, 44% of police departments surveyed reported increases in crime believed to be related to the recent economic downturn.

“In these tough economic times, we need to stay vigilant when it comes to reducing crime and creating jobs for hardworking Americans - this bill does both and that’s why I supported it. I urge the Senate to quickly pass and the President to sign into law this important legislation,” said Perlmutter.

The COPS program was created in 1994 and helped local law enforcement agencies to hire 117,000 additional police officers in every state from 1995 to 2005. However, recent years have seen program funding cut from $1 billion in the late 1990s to $10 million in 2005 to zero in 2007.