In
1994, faced with a national crime crisis, Congress passed the Violent Crime
Control and Law Enforcement Act (Crime Bill), which provided federal funds
to allow state and local law enforcement to hire additional police officers. The
results were dramatic: between 1994 and 2001, violent crime dropped by 29
percent, the most sustained decline in 40 years.
Since
2001, however, the President and the Republican-controlled Congress have cut more
than $2 billion in funding for state and local law enforcement. And the
results have been equally dramatic: violent crime is on the rise again. In
2005, violent crime increased at the fastest rate in fifteen years. These
statistics foreshadow what could be a troubling trend, a backsliding into the
“bad old days” of the 1980s and early 1990s when we were losing the war on
crime.
COPS program leads to a reduction in violent crime. Fifteen years ago, the United States was in the
midst of a violent crime wave. Over the previous 25 years, violent crime had
already increased by 139 percent, and experts were making dire predictions
about the future. But then something changed: from 1994 through 2000, federal
and local government responded with tough, smart programs that made a
difference.
In
1994, Congress passed the Crime Bill, which created the Community Oriented
Policing Services (COPS) program. This program, administered through the Department
of Justice (DOJ), revolutionized state and local law enforcement, enabling police
officials to deploy new crime-fighting technologies, develop innovative
policing methods, and hire new officers. COPS placed nearly 100,000 officers
on the street in more than 13,000 communities across the country.
In
October 2005, Congress’s independent watchdog, the Government Accountability
Office (GAO), credited COPS with reducing crime. GAO found that for every
dollar spent in COPS hiring per resident, crime fell by almost 30 incidents per
100,000 residents.
Republicans have slashed funding for necessary state and local law
enforcement programs. Despite
the success of COPS, President Bush attempted to gut funding for its hiring program
beginning with his first budget proposal. In 1997 and 1998, approximately $1.2 billion dollars were spent each
year by the federal government to hire new police officers under COPS. After
steady decreases over the last five years, that number has fallen to $0.
The
Bush Administration and the Republican-controlled Congress did not stop there,
reducing funding for other DOJ programs, including the Byrne Memorial State and Local Law Enforcement
Assistance grant program (Byrne) and the Local Law Enforcement Block Grant
Program (LLEBG). As soon as these programs were consolidated into the new Byrne
Memorial Justice Assistance Grant program (JAG), the President proposed more
cuts to the program of $123 million, and by 2006, the Congress had cut the
program by over $300 million. For 2007, the second year in a row, the Administration
has proposed eliminating JAG altogether.
Following
President Bush’s lead, and despite resistance from Democrats, Congress has retreated
from the war on crime, cutting overall funding for DOJ programs by 50 percent
since 2001.
The Bush Administration turns its back on state and local law
enforcement. The President’s 2007
budget proposal recommends a staggering $1.1 billion in cuts to state and local
law enforcement programs, with no monies allocated for hiring new officers. If
passed, the budget would:
- cut
$370 million (or seventy eight percent) from the COPS program and eliminate
funding for officer hiring;
- eliminate
funding for JAG, which last year received over $400 million;
- eliminate
funding for the Law Enforcement Terrorism Protection Program, administered
by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which last year received
$400 million to make grants to local law enforcement agencies to assist in
homeland security-related planning, organization, training, exercises, and
equipment;
- eliminate
funding for the Juvenile Accountability Block Grant program, which last
year received $50 million to promote greater accountability in the
juvenile justice system;
- eliminate
funding for the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program (SCAAP), which
last year received $399 million to assist state and local governments with
the costs of jailing illegal immigrants who have committed crimes not
related to their immigration status;
- cut
$15 million from the Emergency Management and Performance grants, the
federal government’s main grant program for state and local emergency
management activities;
- cut
$20 million from the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) program,
which enhances and coordinates drug control efforts among local, State,
and Federal law enforcement agencies; and
- cut
$34 million (nine percent) from the Office of Violence Against Women
budget, which provides national leadership on issues related to domestic
violence, sexual assault, and stalking by providing grants to help victims
with the protection and services they need.
The
2007 budget is further evidence that state and local law enforcement is not a
priority for the Bush Administration.
Law enforcement organizations are outraged at the Bush Administration’s
cuts to law enforcement. Numerous
law enforcement and local government watchdog organizations have criticized the
President’s drastic cuts in federal funding, including the International
Association of Chiefs of Police; the National Sheriffs’ Association; the Major
City Chiefs; the International Brotherhood of Police Officers; and the U.S.
Conference of Mayors.
Police
Chief Mary Ann Viverette, President of the International Association of Chiefs
of Police, has warned that “[t]hese cuts have the potential to cripple the
capabilities of law enforcement agencies nationwide and will undoubtedly force
many departments to take officers off the streets, leading to more crime and
violence in our hometowns and ultimately less security for our homeland.”
According to police chiefs across the country, fewer police officers
on the streets lead to more violent crime. Bush Administration budget cuts, when coupled with the loss of
reservists called to active duty, have left many police departments in a “cop
crunch.” The FBI’s preliminary 2005 crime statistics showed that violent crime rose by 2.5
percent from 2004, the fastest rate since 1991, and homicides increased
by nearly 5 percent.
In
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, violent crime was up by 32 percent from 2004. From 2002
to 2005, its average annual federal funding for the hiring of new officers was 65
percent less than it was from 1994 to 2001. This contributed to the department
having 55 fewer officers in 2005 than in 2002.
In
Flint, Michigan, violent crime was up by 15 percent from 2004, 34 percent from
2001. From 2002 to 2005, its average annual federal funding for the hiring of
new officers was 68 percent less than it was from 1994 to 2001. This
contributed to the department having 31 fewer officers in 2005 than in 2001.
In
Minneapolis, Minnesota, violent crime was up by 15 percent from 2004, 32
percent from 2001. From 2002 to 2006, its average annual federal funding for hiring
new officers was 69 percent less than it was from 1994 to 2001. This
contributed to their department having 42 fewer officers in 2005 than it did in
2002.
Despite Republican assertions to the contrary, DHS funding has not
made up for the reduction in DOJ program funding. The Bush Administration defends its cuts to local
law enforcement programs by pointing out that the Department of Homeland
Security provides nearly $3 billion in grants for state and local purposes. While
this is true and important, much of those funds are earmarked for
counter-terrorism efforts, not local law enforcement. Since 9/11, local police
departments in many cities have had to divert officers from their traditional duties to guard airports, borders,
transportation infrastructure, utilities, and special events. Asking
departments to do double duty with less money is, as Chief Viverette notes,
“both hypocritical and irresponsible.”
Common
sense and the experience of police departments across this country show that
federal funding cuts to state and local law enforcement programs force more officers
off the streets and lead to increased violent crime in our communities. Fully
funding these programs is an important matter of local, state, and
national security.
