	Community Policing: Observations on the COPS Program Midway Through Program Implementation

I am pleased to be here today to discuss the implementation of the Community Policing Act with special attention to statutory requirements for implementing the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) grants. The Community Policing Act authorized $8.8 billion to be used from fiscal years 1995 to 2000 to enhance public safety. Its goals are to add 100,000 officer positions, funded by grants, to the streets of communities nationwide and to promote community policing. However, the higher the crime rate, the more likely a jurisdiction was to apply for a COPS grant. The result was the creation of the new Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS). COPS Grants Not Targeted to Specific Law Enforcement Agencies

The Community Policing Act does not target grants to law enforcement agencies on the basis of which agency has the greatest need for assistance, but rather to agencies that meet COPS program criteria. In one of our previous reports, among other things, we reviewed alternative strategies for targeting grants. According to the COPS Office, in January 1997, it began taking steps to increase the level of its monitoring. Large cities—with populations of over 1 million—were awarded about 1 percent of the grants, but these grants made up over 23 percent—about $612 million—of the total grant dollars awarded. About 50 percent of the grant funds were awarded to law enforcement agencies serving populations of 150,000 or less, and about 50 percent of the grant funds were awarded to law enforcement agencies serving populations exceeding 150,000, as the Community Policing Act required. This number was less than 3 percent of the 11,434 hiring grants awarded during the 2-year period. New Officers and Redeployments to Community Policing Count Toward the Goal of 100,000 New Officers on the Street

As of June 1997, a total of 30,155 law enforcement officer positions funded by COPS grants were estimated by the COPS Office to be on the street.
Why GAO Did This Study

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the implementation of the Community Policing Act, focusing on statutory requirements for implementing the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) grants.

What GAO Found

GAO noted that: (1) the Public Safety Partnership and Community Policing Act authorizes $8.8 billion to be used from fiscal years (FY) 1995 to 2000 to enhance public safety; (2) it has the goals of adding 100,000 officer positions, funded by grants, to the streets of communities nationwide and promoting community policing; (3) among other things, the act required that half the grants go to law enforcement agencies serving populations of 150,000 or less; (4) the Attorney General created the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services to administer community policing grants; (5) at the end of FY 1997, GAO reported on the Department of Justice's implementation of the act and progress toward achieving program goals; (6) GAO found that grants were not targeted to law enforcement agencies on the basis of which agency had the greatest need for assistance, but rather to agencies that met COPS program criteria; (7) previous work had shown that overall, the higher crime rate, the more likely a jurisdiction was to apply for a COPS grant; (8) the primary reasons contacted jurisdictions chose not to apply for a grant were cost related; (9) GAO reported that the COPS Office provided limited monitoring to assure compliance with the act during the period reviewed; (10) COPS officials said they were taking steps to increase the level of monitoring; (11) the majority of the 13,396 grants awarded in FY 1995 and FY 1996 went to law enforcement agencies serving populations of fewer than 50,000; (12) communities with populations of over 1 million were awarded less than 1 percent of the grants, although they were awarded over 23 percent of the total grant dollars; and (13) as of June 1997, the COPS Office estimated that a total of 30,155 law enforcement officer positions funded by COPS grants were on the streets.