United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office General Government Division author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 2000-02-22 monographic deposited born digital 39 p. GA 1.13:GGD-00-69 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GGD-00-69 P0b002ee1803a5773 f:gg00069 DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-28 GAOREPORTS-GGD-00-69 machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-GGD-00-69 GGD-00-69 Police Police training Personnel recruiting Federal aid for criminal justice Federal/state relations Federal aid to states Law enforcement personnel DOJ Police Corps Program Florida Maryland Oregon Texas Letter Report GGD

Pursuant to a congressional request for information regarding how the Department of Justice (DOJ) has implemented the Police Corps program under the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) office and, more recently, the Office of Justice Programs (OJP), focusing on: (1) delays in Police Corps program implementation; and (2) the provision of funds by the Office of the Police Corps.<p/>GAO noted that: (1) the Police Corps program got off to a slower than expected start resulting in the majority of participant slots remaining unfilled; (2) as of September 30, 1999, 4303 of the 1, 007 participant positions funded for fiscal years 1996 through 1998 had been filled; (3) according to federal and state officials, two of the factors that contributed to this slow start were as follows: (a) COPS dedicated insufficient staff to the Police Corps program, which led to delays in providing program guidance, processing program applications and payments, and answering participants' questions about the program; and (b) the Police Corps statute did not provide funding to pay states' costs for program administration or for recruitment and selection of program participants; (4) COPS operation of the Police Corps as a direct reimbursement program made determining program status difficult, as it slowed the rate at which funds were obligated; (5) according to a DOJ official, COPS based its decision to operate the Police Corps program as a direct reimbursement program on the language of the statute; (6) under direct reimbursement, funds were not considered obligated when state plans were approved; (7) instead, COPS considered funds obligated only when an individual check had been sent to a college or university, in-service Police Corps officer, approved law enforcement training provider, or participating police department; (8) on December 10, 1998, responsibility for the Police Corps program was transferred from COPS to OJP; (9) OJP devoted seven full-time staff positions to process program applications and payments and respond to participant queries faster; (10) under the authority granted OJP under 42 U.S.C. 3788(b), which allowed OJP to enter into interagency agreements with states on a reimbursable basis, OJP opted, through the use of such agreements, to make a formula payment that can be used to help defray states' recruiting and administrative costs; (11) this authority was not available to COPS; (12) while these interagency agreements only recently went into effect, they should make money more readily available to states trying to implement their Police Corps programs; (13) as of September 30, 1999, OJP had obligated $51.3 million of the $82.4 million available to the program; and (14) it is too early to determine the effects of the transfer of the Police Corps program from COPS to OJP on the factors contributing to the slow start. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GGD-00-69/html/GAOREPORTS-GGD-00-69.htm https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GGD-00-69/pdf/GAOREPORTS-GGD-00-69.pdf GAO/GGD-00-69 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GGD-00-69 Letter Report GAO/GGD-00-69; Police Corps: Some Problems Resolved, But Most Positions; Police Police training Personnel recruiting Federal aid for criminal justice Federal/state relations Federal aid to states Law enforcement personnel DOJ Police Corps Program Florida Maryland Oregon Texas Title 31 Section 1301(a) 31 U.S.C. 1301(a) Title 42 Section 14091et seq. Title 42 Section 14093 Title 42 Section 14095(a)(4)(A) Title 42 Section 14097(a)(4) Title 42 Section 2 Title 42 Section 3788(b) Title 42 Section 8 42 U.S.C. 14091et seq. 42 U.S.C. 14093 42 U.S.C. 14095(a)(4)(A) 42 U.S.C. 14097(a)(4) 42 U.S.C. 2 42 U.S.C. 3788(b) 42 U.S.C. 8 Public Law 103-322 Conf. Rept. 105-825