Law enforcers in Arlington are expecting to lose to a significant chunk of federal funding once the Bush administration's proposed 2005 budget meets with final approval. The Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) program, a Clinton era initiative that has granted millions to police departments nationwide, is on the chopping block. The program's purpose is putting more police on the streets by giving departments the money to hire them.
The administration's proposed budget would reduce the COPS program from $499 million a year to only $22 million. Arlington County Police Department spokesman Matt Martin said local police have yet to receive word on how much the county could lose. The program accounts for more than $7 million of the county's law-enforcement budget according to figures from the General Accounting Office (GAO).
"Arlington took great advantage of the program during its height in the 1990s, but they have been systematically scaling back the program since the beginning of the Bush administration," Arlington Police chief Douglass Scott said. "We haven't had any new COPS grants for a couple years."
In Arlington, COPS money is used for community policing projects, projects that put police in direct contact with neighborhoods and the people they defend from crime. It is also used for law-enforcement programs in schools that monitor gangs and drug activity.
"We added a number of officers over the years and added depth to our school resource officer program," Scott said. "It's not as if we'll stop doing those things, but it means we'll have to look elsewhere for the funds to do that in the future."
THE ARLINGTON County Police Departments annual budget, Scott said, is about $40 million. Much of that goes toward paying the salaries of its 392 full-time officers. The loss of federal COPS grants, he added, won't reduce the effectiveness of police services, but with the increased demands facing police departments throughout the United States in the post-911 world, it does pose some new challenges.
"None of the other federal grants really include provisions to add staffing," Scott said. "The COPS program has truly allowed us to grow and respond more effectively in the communities we serve. We've had a number of added demands, but the cuts in funding mean that we're not really able to grow the way we would like to be."
Other grant programs, Scott said, offer money for equipment, but people are what all police departments really need.
"A lot of growth the department experienced is tied directly to COPS grants," he said. "At the end of the day, we need people. I hope the Bush administration and Congress will reconsider cutting the program."
Since its inception under the Clinton administration, the COPS program has put more than 100,000 new police officers on the nation's streets, according to Rep. Jim Moran (D-8th). The Bush budget's 97-percent slash in funding would signal the program's essential demise.
"I'm sure it has contributed to a significant reduction in crime," Moran said. "All of our communities have used it. It's a shame that it is being targeted."
In the county's detention center, COPS money is used to offset the cost of housing illegal immigrants until they can be placed in the custody of immigration agents.
"Cutting that funding is hurting local facilities," said county sheriff Beth Arthur.
Arthur added that COPS grants also contribute to the county's ability to hire translators and other staff who can speak multiple languages. With the money, she said, its ability to handle inmates who cannot speak English could be hindered.
"Arlington values being able to hire people that speak second languages," she said.
The new federal budget is under consideration by Congress, which could alter its content. It will be approved later this year.