United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 2005-10-14 monographic deposited born digital 124 p. GA 1.13:GAO-06-104 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-06-104 P0b002ee18037611c f:d06104 DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-23 GAOREPORTS-GAO-06-104 machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-GAO-06-104 GAO-06-104 Budget obligations Cost effectiveness analysis Crime prevention Federal aid for criminal justice Federal funds Financial management Funds management Grant administration Grants to local governments Grants to states Labor force Law enforcement agencies Police Program evaluation Other Written Product A39537 Between 1994 and 2001, the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) provided more than $7.6 billion in grants to state and local communities to hire police officers and promote community policing as an effective strategy to prevent crime. Studies of the impact of the grants on crime have been inconclusive. GAO was asked to evaluate the effect of the COPS program on the decline in crime during the 1990s. GAO developed and analyzed a database containing annual observations on crime, police officers, COPS funds, and other factors related to crime, covering years prior to and during the COPS program, or from 1990 through 2001. GAO analyzed survey data on policing practices that agencies reportedly implemented and reviewed studies of policing practices. GAO assessed: (1) how COPS obligations were distributed and how much was spent; (2) the extent to which COPS expenditures contributed to increases in the number of police officers and declines in crime nationwide; and (3) the extent to which COPS grants during the 1990s were associated with policing practices that crime literature indicates could be effective. In commenting on a draft of this report, the COPS Office said that our findings are important and support conclusions reached by others. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-06-104/html/GAOREPORTS-GAO-06-104.htm https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-06-104/pdf/GAOREPORTS-GAO-06-104.pdf GAO-06-104 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-06-104 Other Written Product GAO-06-104; Community Policing Grants: COPS Grants Were a Modest Contributor to Declines in Crime in the 1990s; Budget obligations Cost effectiveness analysis Crime prevention Federal aid for criminal justice Federal funds Financial management Funds management Grant administration Grants to local governments Grants to states Labor force Law enforcement agencies Police Program evaluation Public Law 103-50 Public Law 103-322 Public Law 104-134