Estimated 4,800 additional police officers to be hired in New York State

The House of Representatives last week passed the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Improvements Act, H.R. 1139, which extends the highly successful law enforcement program. Congressman Tim Bishop (NY-1) supported the legislation, which passed by an overwhelming 342-78 margin.

"I am proud to represent thousands of Suffolk County first responders who strongly urged me to support the COPS Improvements Act," Congressman Bishop said. "The COPS program has reduced crime rates around the country through the hiring of over 100,000 additional police officers in the last decade. In the midst of our current economic downturn, it is particularly important to provide jobs, combat theft and keep our streets safe."

The COPS Improvements Act would provide for an estimated 4,800 additional police officers in New York State and 50,000 nationwide over the next five years. As the program uses a competitive grant process to allocate funding, its state-by-state effects are not known up front. The program was created in 1994 under the Clinton administration, and independent studies have confirmed that COPS hiring grants helped contribute to reduced crime rates over the past decade.

COPS grants provided nearly $1 billion to New York State to hire over 11,000 additional police officers from 1995 to 2005. In that same time span, the COPS program employed over 116,000 new police officers nationwide. Unfortunately, the Republican-controlled Congress slashed funding for the program beginning in fiscal year 2005. The COPS Improvements Act supplements the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, which included $1 billion to restart the COPS program.

The COPS Improvement Act is supported by a broad coalition of groups, including the National Fraternal Order of Police, National Sheriffs’ Association, International Association of Chiefs of Police, National Association of Police Organizations, National Narcotic Officers’ Associations Coalition, National District Attorneys Association, U.S. Conference of Mayors, and National League of Cities.

H.R. 1139 now moves to the Senate Judiciary Committee for further consideration.

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