Are COPS grants being used to hire or redeploy police for community policing?
Not necessarily. According to the Urban Institute study, some agencies used the money for telephone reporting systems, Computer Aided Dispatch systems, and other technology such as geomapping and reverse 911 systems. The April 1999 IG report was based on an audit of 149 recipients of COPS and Office of Justice Programs hiring and redeployment grants totaling $511 million. The IG found about $52 million in “questioned costs” and about $71 million in funds that “could be better used.” This amounts to 24 percent of the total funds awarded to the 149 grantees. If this percentage is applied to the entire budget, questionable costs are over $2.1 billion as authorized by Congress, or $1.8 billion as appropriated by Congress. Question #3: Will agencies be able to retain the COPS-funded officers after the grants end? Again, not necessarily. The IG “questioned the ability of many grantees to retain the COPS-funded officers after the grants ended,” since this could cause some cities to cut back i
Related Questions
- I understand that I am required to redeploy officers to community policing as a result of my COPS MORE grant. What is meant by "redeployment"?
- How well have individual law enforcement agencies used the COPS grant money to improve their community policing programs?
- Did police expenditures and COPS grants reduce crime in large cities?
