# P1 Exclusive: Economic stimulus includes $3.77B for state, local law enforcement



## kwflatbed (Dec 29, 2004)

*Editor's Corner*
with PoliceOne Senior Editor Doug Wyllie

_*Editor's Note:* PoliceOne has obtained documents from the Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs, the IACP, and other sources from which we have generated the following summary. Because the so-called American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is massive (not just in its financial scope but in its physical length of more than 1,100-pages), we will continue to explore what this legislation means for law enforcement. If you have information on the impact this bill will have on your own agency, please email us._

DENVER - President Barack Obama today signed into law the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, a $787 billion economic stimulus package within which there is roughly $3.77 billion for state and local law enforcement assistance programs. About a third of the total price for the stimulus package comes from tax cuts, the other two thirds represent spending aimed at saving and/or creating 3.5 million jobs over the next two years.

"This package ... includes aid to state and local governments to prevent layoffs of firefighters and police recruits," President Obama said in Denver today during the signing ceremony that included Colorado Governor Bill Ritter, Vice President Joe Biden, and other political heavy-weights.

"Thanks to the Recovery Act, thousands of additional police officers will go on the streets of America, and hundreds and hundreds of fire stations will be built, making the people of Denver and every other city in America safer," Vice President Joe Biden said during his remarks.

Margaret Stark, a consultant who specializes in helping public safety agencies navigate the grant-writing process, tells PoliceOne in an exclusive interview: "With all the talk-both positive and negative-about the stimulus package, one thing is certain. There is great news for law enforcement included in this package." 
Stark says that with officers being laid off and hiring freezes in place across the country, the package "couldn't come at a better time" because it includes funding for the COPS hiring program. "It appears that about one billion dollars will go into this program for State, local and tribal 
governments," Stark says, adding that "unless law enforcement in general has gotten a substantial raise in salary levels, that will equal a bunch of jobs and will put officers back on the streets at a time when crime rates are already on the rise."

Attorney General Eric Holder said in a press release issued late Tuesday, "This funding is vital to keeping our communities strong. As governors, mayors, and local law enforcement professionals struggle with the current economic crisis, we can't afford to decrease our commitment to fighting crime and keeping our communities safe. These grants will help ensure states and localities can make the concerted efforts necessary to protect our most vulnerable communities and populations."

According to documents obtained by PoliceOne, the DOJ will be required to submit a spending plan to Congress within 60 days of enactment of the legislation. According to a DOJ document circulated before the signing ceremony, the breakdown of available Law Enforcement monies included in the stimulus package signed is as follows:

Full Article:http://www.policeone.com/patrol-iss...cludes-3-77B-for-state-local-law-enforcement/


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## SgtAndySipowicz (Mar 17, 2008)

> "This package ... includes aid to state and local governments to prevent layoffs of firefighters and police recruits,"
> 
> "Thanks to the Recovery Act, thousands of additional police officers will go on the streets of America....."
> 
> ...


*This sounds like really good news. When would agencies in MA first see some of these monies? Hopefully by July 1st, 2009 in my agency's case..... I hope these numbers result in substantial new hires however. Keep in mind, under the current Obama plan everyone is going to see a whopping $8 more per week or something similar. If the money for the police results in a similar figure this will prove to be another waste of taxpayer money. Hopefully it's spent wisely, and not on HANDOUTS to those who are not deserving (welfare, food stamps, SSI etc etc)......*


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## Guest (Feb 19, 2009)

A few high sheriffs are drooling now.


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## Boston17526 (Nov 17, 2008)

dinner is served.


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## Guest (Feb 22, 2009)

Here is the link to the info about it:

http://www.cops.usdoj.gov/Default.asp?Item=2108

If you are facing layoffs, your chief/grant writer needs to submit an application and get an ORI Number. They will then send a confirmation and place your town/city on a list. I doubt it will stave off ALL of your layoffs, but any little bit helps. The grant will fully fund salary and bennies for 3 years (providing the position is funded at the end of grant period). Don't let your department sit back and wait for handouts.


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## Boston17526 (Nov 17, 2008)

curious as to how these funds will be allocated since patrick will be injecting 5mill. is this 5mill all of the stimulus $ or will there be more coming?


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## kwflatbed (Dec 29, 2004)

Stimulus Allots for More Law Enforcement Officers

*KEVIN JOHNSON
*_USA TODAY_

WASHINGTON -- The Obama administration is reviving a controversial Clinton-era police hiring program, and the lack of restrictions on the money has critics warning of wasteful spending.
The stimulus package loosens the old rules for the program by dropping a provision that required police agencies to pay millions in local dollars to tap federal hiring grants. It gives police agencies nearly unfettered access to $1 billion over three years for hiring up to 6,000 officers as many departments face cuts.
That money is part of an overall effort, unveiled in Obama's budget proposal Thursday, to fund 50,000 new police officers. The budget does not specify a time frame or cost, and Justice Department documents say rules for the broader program will be released later.
Some criminal justice analysts say the rules in the stimulus package don't require enough commitment from local agencies and that the program offers a potentially false promise that more police lead to less crime.
"No matching funds mean no accountability," says David Muhlhausen, a justice policy analyst at the conservative Heritage Foundation. "This is giving away free money." He says there was "no conclusive evidence that the grants helped decrease crime" during the initial program.
Craig Uchida, a former Clinton official who helped oversee the program, says the matching funds made cities "accountable" because they invested their own money. Police agencies had to pay 25% of all new officer salaries and benefits for the three-year federal grant period. "Our view was, let's not give (recipients) a free ride," he says.
Justice Department spokesman Corey Ray says the stimulus money could begin flowing to agencies within weeks and save some from layoffs that threaten public safety.
He says the bad economy makes the change necessary because the old rules blocked some cash-strapped agencies from participating, and the need for help is even greater now. The police grants, along with other stimulus spending, will get extra scrutiny by administration auditors, he says.
The original Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) program, championed by Vice President Biden while he was in the Senate, provided funding for more than 100,000 officers.
The Justice Department's own audits of the program alleged millions of dollars were misspent and thousands of jobs funded by the grants were never filled. In one case, a New Mexico tribe got $728,125 to hire eight extra officers. After the department closed in 2002, auditors said it was unclear where the money went or whether anyone was hired.
Ray says the problems related to the original program involved a small number of agencies.
Police groups, including the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP), have tried to resurrect COPS since the Bush administration shut it down after 9/11, when U.S. funds were shifted to homeland security.
Under Clinton, COPS was designed to battle a spike in violent crime. Gene Voegtlin, the IACP's legislative counsel, credits COPS with helping to spur the subsequent crime decline. Yet some cities that did not accept the money, such as Oklahoma City, reported equal declines to those that did.
The Obama program is being rolled out as crime has declined in much of the past decade, including 2007, the most recent year measured by the FBI.
A study released in January by the Police Executive Research Forum, a law enforcement think tank, found nearly half of the 233 police agencies surveyed linked recent increases in criminal offenses, such as robberies, to the economy.
Leslie Paige, spokeswoman for Citizens Against Government Waste, says the new grant program is a "giveaway" that postpones needed change.
"Local governments need to learn how to live on smaller budgets and figure out what we need to jettison, including law enforcement," she says.

Story From: USA Today


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## Guest (May 3, 2009)

I am not sure if this article has been posted yet, but here it is:

H.R. 1139: COPS Improvements Act of 2009 - Legislative Digest - GOP.gov

They are looking to expand the grants due to the overwhelming amount of applications.

Here is the other side of the coin:

COPS Reform: Why Congress Can't Make the COPS Program Work


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