[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 136 (Tuesday, September 30, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Page S12187]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          ON THE COMMUNITY ORIENTED POLICING SERVICES PROGRAM

  Mr. FEINGOLD. Mr. President, I want to speak today on the Community 
Oriented Policing Services, or COPS, program. In my twenty years as a 
public servant, I have seen only a very small number of federally 
funded programs that have had such a measurable and immediate effect on 
local communities as the COPS program.
  The Community Oriented Policing Services Program, commonly known as 
COPS, was established in 1994, due in large part to the efforts of my 
distinguished colleague from Delaware, Senator Biden, and the support 
of then-President Clinton. Since its inception, the program has greatly 
enhanced community oriented policing across the Nation, resulting in 
real, tangible crime reduction in cities such as Green Bay, Wisconsin's 
third-largest city, as well as in small, rural areas across Wisconsin 
and the country. This program has been a shining example of an 
effective partnership between local and Federal governments. It 
provides Federal assistance to meet local objectives without imposing 
mandates or interfering with local prerogatives. It also provides 
Federal dollars directly to police departments and local communities.
  To date, the COPS program has facilitated the hiring and training of 
over 118,000 police officers who help keep our communities safe. In the 
State of Wisconsin alone, COPS has funded over 1,330 new officers by 
contributing over $100 million to communities. COPS funds have also 
provided over $20 million worth of crime-fighting technologies to 
Wisconsin law enforcement agencies. As Green Bay Police Chief Craig Van 
Schyndle told me last week, these funds have had a very positive and 
measurable impact on policing in Green Bay. Crime rates have gone down, 
school security has been enhanced, and more officers have gotten out 
from behind their desks and into the communities they protect.
  But the Chief also expressed his fear that proposed cuts to the COPS 
program will result in devastating consequences for the Green Bay 
Police Department. The proposed drastic funding cuts will set many 
police departments back decades. Already outdated equipment will become 
the norm, and what's worse, our communities will see a reduction in 
officers patrolling our neighborhoods. The Green Bay Police Department 
and so many other local law enforcement agencies in Wisconsin and 
across the country are already crunched for resources due to the 
stressed state budgets in many of our home States. Due to these fiscal 
constraints, COPS funds that we have praised as beneficial have become 
absolutely crucial. If we allow the proposed cuts to the COPS program, 
many departments will have no choice but to cut wages and reduce 
personnel.
  It is important to note in the post-September 11 world that when we 
lose our community-oriented officers, we lose first responders. This 
year, for the first time, COPS dollars are being used to hire community 
policing officers who will be engaged in homeland security efforts, and 
to pay for overtime costs associated with homeland security. They are 
also helping to provide inter-operable communications technology in 
communities to better help our first responders communicate during 
times of crisis. Many of us have heard from first responders in our 
home States about how important, and how lacking, this communications 
technology is on the front lines of the fight against terrorism.
  The administration and Congress simply cannot tell the American 
people that we want them to feel secure and tell our local law 
enforcement officers how they are, while at the same time cutting 
funding for those officers. We must not short-change our police 
officers. As the tragic events of September 11th reminded our Nation, 
police officers play a vital role in protecting and securing our 
communities. In the past 2 years, the words ``security'' and ``safety'' 
have taken on new significance for Americans. The COPS program helps to 
give those words meaning. The officers who are hired and trained and 
funded by the COPS program are our neighbors, our first responders, our 
drug educators, and, in some cases, as in the COPS in Schools program, 
the mentors for our children. We must give them the support they need 
so that they can continue to keep us safe and secure.
  No police department should have to choose between having up-to-date 
communications devices and having sufficient law enforcement officers 
in its community, or decide whether to continue its school crossing 
guard program or to fund its successful crime-reduction programs. And 
yet, that is exactly what is happening to local law enforcement 
agencies in Wisconsin and across the country as they watch funding 
levels for the COPS program drop.
  I might add that unlike other important law enforcement grant 
programs, COPS delivers grant funding directly to chiefs and sheriffs. 
There are no overhead costs for States because the grant administration 
is facilitated directly by the Federal Government. Communities of all 
sizes are eligible to apply for COPS grants, and the payoffs are 
invaluable. Ensuring funding in the COPS program is an investment in 
our Nation's security, an investment in our children, and an investment 
in community safety.
  As we consider appropriations for the many Federal programs that make 
a difference at home, I urge my colleagues to send a strong message of 
support to our local law enforcement officers: As we ask more of them, 
we must understand the fiscal pressure they face and help them bridge 
their funding gap so they can continue the level of excellence at which 
they operate. There is no question that community-oriented policing is 
integral to the protection and safety of all Americans.
  Again, I want to applaud Senator Biden for his leadership on this 
issue. I urge my colleagues, especially those on the Appropriations 
Committee, to work to ensure that the COPS program is fully funded 
before we adjourn. Thank you, Mr. President.
  I yield the floor.

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