[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 26 (Thursday, February 9, 1995)]
[House]
[Pages H1537-H1538]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                           COMMUNITY POLICING

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Massachusetts [Mr. Olver] is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. OLVER. Mr. Speaker, on Tuesday, 40 communities in my district got 
good news. They can hire more cops to fight crime, they can hire these 
cops because of the community policing program that President Clinton 
championed and we passed last year.
  Community policing is not some new, untried approach. It has been 
used in many places across the country for some years.

                              {time}  1920

  Putting cops on the street makes people safer. Despite this success, 
or is it because of it, next this House will debate the part of the 
Republican Contract on America which eliminates the community policing 
program. Community policing puts police on our streets who know the 
neighborhoods and are trained to work with residents to prevent crime. 
Community police work as partners with citizens to make their 
neighborhoods safer. Community policing takes cops out from behind 
their desks where they are doing record-keeping and paperwork and puts 
them back on the beat downtown in the neighborhood where kids gather at 
night, wherever there could be trouble.
  In my district in the small city of Fitchburg which has just over 
40,000 people, a community policing program was started 4 years ago, 
and it reports dramatic drop in crime. Here is what happened after 4 
years of community policing in Fitchburg: 25-percent decrease in 
assaults, 55-percent decrease in burglary, 55-percent decrease in 
weapons possession, 23-percent decrease in domestic violence, 67-
percent decrease in disorderly conduct.
  The mayor of Fitchburg told me, and he will tell anyone, there is no 
substitute for a consistent police presence 
[[Page H1538]]  in a troubled neighborhood. Community policing has 
helped make that neighborhood safe for families again.
  Now, the Republican bill eliminates the community policing program, 
and that means fewer police officers catching criminals, fewer 
patrolling the neighborhoods, fewer building partnerships based on 
trust, and fewer people safe in their neighborhoods. The community 
policing program we passed last year ensures funding for small cities 
and towns.
  My constituents know that violent crime is not just a city problem, 
and the Cops Fast Program was designed specifically to help rural 
communities and smaller towns. In many of my communities just one or 
two additional officers can make a world of difference.
  In Dalton, a small town in my district, under 10,000 people, the 
chief of police, Dan Fillio, said that the Cops Fast grant gives him 
another set of eyes and ears out on the streets.
  Community policing works. Now is not the time to break the promise we 
made to our citizens who live in fear.
  Under the Republican bills, small towns in my district will have 
little chance of getting help.
  Mr. Speaker, Republicans and Democrats agrees on one thing during 
last year's crime bill debate. We need more cops on the beat to help 
keep people safe. So why does the Republican contract cut funds for new 
police?
  The contract combines the tried and true community policing program 
with a host of crime prevention programs and replaces it with a block 
grant, and then cuts the funding besides. Mr. Speaker, the block grant, 
the Republican block grant, is a shell game. Under the Republican bill, 
police will have to compete with other community groups, even those 
involved in street lighting, tree removal, and disaster preparedness.
  The Republican bill makes no guarantees that money will go for 
additional cops.
  Will American be safer if dollars are used to hire consultants? Will 
we be safer if the money is used to buy equipment? Will we be safer if 
it pays for desks? Well, the answer, obviously, Mr. Speaker, is no. 
People feel safe when they see a cop in their neighborhoods. We helped 
put them there last year, and this year the other side is taking them 
away.
  My mayors and police and police chiefs lose in the block grant shell 
game. All the money for new cops will go to big cities with population 
numbers and crime statistics the Republican contract requires. This is 
not smart. This is not savings.
  Wake up, America. Do not fall for the shell game.
  

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