[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 81 (Wednesday, May 16, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1071]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   THE COPS IMPROVEMENTS ACT OF 2007

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                           HON. RUSH D. HOLT

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, May 15, 2007

  Mr. HOLT. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of The C.O.P.S. 
Improvements Act of 2007, H.R. 1700. I am a proud cosponsor of this 
legislation that would allow The Community Oriented Policing Services 
(C.O.P.S.) program to hire an additional 50,000 police officers to walk 
the beat in our local communities.
  The creation of the C.O.P.S. program was a breakthrough in law 
enforcement. By funding additional officers, critical technologies, and 
valuable training, C.O.P.S. has been a catalyst for the revolutionary 
shift to community policing. However, limits on hiring new officers has 
hindered the ability of the C.O.P.S. program to address the rise in 
violent crime.
  Between 1995 and 2005, the C.O.P.S. program helped put 117,000 
additional officers on the beat across every state and in most 
communities in our Nation. Unfortunately, in 2006 the then Republican-
led Congress decided to eliminate the ability of this program to help 
hire additional law enforcement officers. This was a tragic mistake.
  According to the General Accountability Office ``C.O.P.S. funded 
increases in sworn officers per capita were associated with the 
declines in rates of total index crimes, violent crimes, and property 
crimes.'' The same GAO study showed that between the years of 1998 and 
2000, C.O.P.S. hiring grants were responsible for reducing crime by 
about 200,000 to 225,000 incidents--one third of which were violent.
  It is appropriate that in the wake of the tragic events at Virginia 
Tech, we are reauthorizing the C.O.P.S. program and restoring the 
program's ability to help local law enforcement agencies hire 
additional police officers. Earlier this week, I met with state and 
local law enforcement officials, school safety officers, and gun 
control advocacy organizations to learn what more the Federal 
Government should be doing to prevent gun crime. All the participants 
understood the importance of the C.O.P.S. program and the positive 
effect that community oriented policing has had on crime rates.
  Across the state of New Jersey, approximately 4,790 officers were 
hired by local police departments using C.O.P.S. funds. This meant an 
additional 628 police officers and/or sheriff deputies walking the beat 
in the local communities of my Congressional District. Further, 33 
school resource officers were hired to ensure that our children's 
schools are safe.
  A Congressional Report, indicates that when The C.O.P.S. Improvements 
Act of 2007 becomes law there will be 268 more police officers on the 
beat, approximately $13 million more for law enforcement grants, 14 
additional school resource officers, and an additional $3.6 million in 
technology grants for law enforcement officers in the 12th 
Congressional District.
  This legislation has been endorsed by the International Association 
of Chiefs of Police, the National Sheriff's Association, the Fraternal 
Order of Police, the National Association of Police Organizations, the 
U.S. Conference of Mayors, and the National League of Cities.
  The C.O.P.S. program and community policing have put us on the right 
track. The police chiefs and sheriffs in my district consistently tell 
me that we could have never achieved this much without the additional 
officers and technology funded under the COPS program.
  Mr. Speaker, we cannot afford to under fund this program anymore. The 
COPS program has been vital to our local communities. Our police 
departments can do only so much with the resources they are given. At a 
time when we are asking our law enforcement officers to do more to 
reduce crime and protect our hometowns from potential terrorist related 
threats we should do everything we can to increase the funding of the 
COPS program. H.R. 1700 is an essential first step.




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