[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 89 (Wednesday, July 12, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6574-S6575]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. ROBB:
  S. 2850. A bill to reduce illegal drug-related crimes in our Nation's 
communities by providing additional Federal funds to develop and 
implement community policing and prosecutorial initiatives that address 
problems associated with the production, manufacture, distribution, 
importation, and use of illegal drugs; to the Committee on the 
Judiciary.


       the community oriented policing services against drugs act

  Mr. ROBB. Mr. President, I have visited the Carver Neighborhood of 
Richmond in my state. This neighborhood is a low-income community that 
thanks to collaborative efforts among the community, city, and federal 
government, has seen a tremendous decrease in crime, helping to spur a 
major community revitalization.
  We've seen this trend more and more in cities and communities across 
America. Much has been accomplished in our efforts to revitalize our 
communities--but more needs to be done. We should build on our past 
successes and focus our resources on keeping our children safe and our 
neighborhoods free of fear. We should take what we know works and apply 
it in our fight against illegal drugs.
  It is in this spirit, Mr. President, that I rise to introduce the 
Community Oriented Policing Services Against Drugs Act. As part of our 
continuing battle against the proliferation of drugs in our nation's 
communities, my bill seeks to provide $500 million over five years in 
federal funds from the COPS Program to state and local law enforcement 
authorities across the country to eliminate or reduce drug crime in 
America. We know the COPS Program works, and I'm proud to have expanded 
it to provide our schools with more than 2,600 police officers to 
combat school violence.
  Specifically, this new program will provide federal funds to hire 
1,950 more police officers to enhance existing community policing 
initiatives throughout approximately 65 cities across the country. 
Newly hired police officers will be charged with developing and 
implementing community policing initiatives to combat the production, 
manufacture, distribution, importation, or use of illegal drugs in our 
communities.
  There are dozens of cities across the country, such as Richmond, 
Norfolk, and Williamsburg in my state, that are committed to providing 
a safe environment for citizens to live, work and raise a family but 
need additional resources to help eliminate drug trafficking and drug-
related crime, including violent crime. This legislation will build 
upon the successful COPS Program and focus an aspect of its community 
policing initiatives against the scourge of illegal drugs in our 
neighborhoods.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that this legislation be 
printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                S. 2850

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Community Oriented Policing 
     Services Against Drugs Act''.

     SEC. 2. COMMUNITY ORIENTED POLICING SERVICES AGAINST DRUGS.

       Part Q of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe 
     Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3796dd et seq.) is amended by 
     adding at the end the following:

     ``SEC. 1710. COMMUNITY ORIENTED POLICING SERVICES AGAINST 
                   DRUGS.

       ``(a) Eligible Community Defined.--In this section, the 
     term ``eligible community'' means communities identified by 
     the Attorney General under subsection (c).
       ``(b) Award of Grants.--The Attorney General may award 
     grants in accordance with this part--
       ``(1) to local law enforcement agencies located in eligible 
     communities, which shall be used for programs, projects, and 
     activities--
       ``(A) to hire additional community policing officers and 
     civilian personnel to aggressively investigate drug-related 
     crimes; and
       ``(B) to pay overtime to existing law enforcement officers, 
     to the extent such overtime is devoted to community policing 
     efforts with respect to drug-related crimes; and
       ``(2) to State and local prosecutors' offices located in 
     eligible communities and to prosecution programs in eligible 
     communities that augment community policing programs, which 
     shall be used to assist in the aggressive prosecution of 
     drug-related crimes.
       ``(c) Identification of Eligible Communities.--
       ``(1) In general.--The Attorney General shall identify 
     eligible communities for purposes of subsection (a)(4), based 
     on--
       ``(A) the extent to which the community is a center of 
     illegal drug production, manufacturing, importation, 
     distribution, or use;
       ``(B) the extent to which State and local law enforcement 
     and prosecutorial authorities have committed resources to the 
     illegal

[[Page S6575]]

     drug problem in the community, thereby indicating a need for 
     additional Federal resources to combat issues related to the 
     prevalence of illegal drugs;
       ``(C) the extent to which illegal drug-related activities 
     in the community have an adverse impact on other communities 
     in the Nation; and
       ``(D) the extent to which additional Federal resources 
     would assist, eliminate, or reduce illegal drug-related 
     activities in the community.
       ``(2) Use of certain data.--In carrying out paragraph (1), 
     the Attorney General shall utilize information from national 
     data sources (including the Uniform Crime Reports of the 
     Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Arrestee Drug Abuse 
     Monitoring (ADAM) program of the National Institute of 
     Justice), including data relating to--
       ``(A) the number of arrests for drug possession or drug 
     sale in the community;
       ``(B) the number of arrests for drug-related crime in the 
     community; and
       ``(C) the number of arrestees testing positive for illegal 
     drug use in the community.
       ``(d) Small Community Preference.--In awarding grants under 
     this section, the Attorney General may set aside 20 percent 
     of award grants to applicants located in eligible communities 
     with a population of less than 35,000.
       ``(e) Funding.--Notwithstanding any other provision of this 
     title, of the amount made available to carry out this part, a 
     total of $500,000,000 shall be used to carry out this section 
     for fiscal years 2001 through 2005.''.
                                 ______