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1 1 (February 17, 2023)

handle is hein.crs/govekqe0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Con gre Wiot informing th eg: I Research Sern/ce tiv cebtesic01914 Updated February 17, 2023 Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Program Background Under the initial authorization for the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) program (Title I of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, P.L. 103-322, the 1994 Crime Act), grants could be awarded for (1) hiring new police officers or rehiring police officers who have been laid off to engage in community policing, (2) hiring former members of the armed services to serve as career law enforcement officers engaged in community policing, and (3) supporting community policing nonhiring initiatives, such as training law enforcement officers in crime prevention and community policing techniques or developing technologies that support crime prevention strategies. The COPS program was reauthorized by the Violence Against Women and Department of Justice Reauthorization Act of 2005 (P.L. 109-162). The act changed the COPS program from a multi-grant program to a single-grant program under which DOJ can make grants to state, local, and tribal governments, and other public and private entities for a variety of enumerated purposes (see 34 U.S.C. § 10381(b)). Congress has continued to appropriate funding for the COPS program even though authorized appropriations for the program expired in FY2009. COPS Funding From FY1995 to FY1999, the annual appropriation for the COPS program averaged nearly $1.4 billion. The relatively high levels of funding during this time period, relative to post-FY2000 appropriations, were largely the result of efforts to place 100,000 new law enforcement officers on the streets. After the initial push to hire and fund 100,000 new law enforcement officers, Congress started to change the COPS program into a conduit for supporting a wider range of local law enforcement needs. Starting in FY1998, an increasing portion of the annual appropriation for COPS was dedicated to programs that helped law enforcement agencies purchase new equipment, combat methamphetamine production, upgrade criminal history record systems, and improve their forensic science capabilities. Increasing funding for nonhiring initiatives under the COPS account coincided with decreasing funding for hiring programs. By FY2005, appropriations for hiring programs were nearly nonexistent, and Congress eliminated funding for them for FY2006 and FY2007. Funding for hiring programs was revived when the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (P.L. 111-5) provided $1 billion for the COPS program. Appropriations for hiring programs from FY2009 to FY2012 were the result of Congress's efforts to help local law enforcement agencies facing budget cuts as a result of the recession either hire new law enforcement officers or retain officers they would otherwise have to lay off. Appropriations continued to be provided for hiring programs even as the effects of that recession waned. There was a notable reduction in the total amount of funding provided for the COPS program since FY2012 relative to previous fiscal years. Prior to FY2012, the least amount of annual funding (in nominal dollars) provided for the COPS program was $472 million for FY2006. Although COPS program funding has increased over the past several fiscal years (see Table 1), annual funding has remained significantly lower than it was before FY2012. Lower annual appropriations for the COPS program since FY2012 can be attributed to three trends: (1) a decrease in the amount of funding provided for hiring programs, (2) the ban on congressionally directed spending, and (3) Congress's restructuring of the COPS account. (Recent increases in annual COPS funding is attributable to a partial reversal of some of these trends.) Congress had a ban on congressionally directed spending from FY2011 to FY2021. This ban substantially decreased funding for the Law Enforcement Technology and the Methamphetamine Clean-up programs, which were being administered by the COPS Office. By FY2012, Congress did not appropriate any funding for the Law Enforcement Technology program and the only funding remaining for the Methamphetamine Clean-up program was transferred to the Drug Enforcement Administration to assist with the clean-up of clandestine methamphetamine laboratories. Congress ceased providing funding for the Methamphetamine Clean-up program in FY2018. From FY2010 to FY2012, Congress moved appropriations for several programs that were funded under the COPS account-such as Project Safe Neighborhoods, DNA backlog reduction initiatives, Paul Coverdell grants, offender reentry programs, the National Criminal History Improvement program, and the Bulletproof Vest Grant program-to the State and Local Law Enforcement Assistance (S&LLEA) account. Programs funded under this account are administered by the Office of Justice Programs (OJP). Prior to the programs being moved to the S&LLEA, appropriations for them were transferred from the COPS Office to OJP for administration. In general, from FY2001 to FY2011, appropriations for programs that were transferred to OJP accounted for one-third to one-half of the annual funding for the COPS account. In recent fiscal years, differing proportions of the COPS account has again been transferred to OJP. Since FY2017, Congress has provided funding for the Regional Information Sharing System (RISS) program under the COPS account, which is transferred to OJP. Funding for the COPS program has increased in the last seven fiscal years, from $208 million for FY2015 to $663

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