FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                          AG
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 1994                        (202) 616-0189
                                               TDD (202) 514-1888

        PRESIDENT CLINTON ANNOUNCES POLICE HIRING GRANTS
                    FOR 6,660 JURISDICTIONS;
 HALF OF AMERICA'S POLICE DEPARTMENTS NOW SCHEDULED TO GET AID
                                
     WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Dramatically expanding the scope of the 
Administration's "COPS" police hiring program, President Clinton and Attorney 
General Janet Reno today announced $434 million in new hiring grants for 6,660 
police departments to hire more than 7,115 new officers.  More than half of 
the police departments in America are now scheduled to receive grants that 
will help them hire more than 16,000 officers.

     Jurisdictions from all across America, all numbering less than 50,000 in 
population, submitted one-page grant applications just six weeks ago.  
     
     "Two years ago, I pledged to put 100,000 new police officers on the 
street," said President Clinton.  "Today we turned the corner.  Just five 
months after I signed the crime bill, we have funded more than 16,000 new cops."

     Including the 1993-94 Police Hiring Supplement program and the crime bill 
grants announced last year, more than 8,000 jurisdictions have now received 
grants to hire more than 16,000 officers.

     The crime bill's community policing hiring program, signed into law by 
President Clinton this September, provides $8.8 billion in competitive grants 
for state and local law enforcement agencies to hire community policing 
officers and to implement community policing.

     Congress is now considering amending last year's crime bill, including 
proposals that would scrap the "Cops on the Beat" grants.  Clinton and Reno 
both warned against such a move. "The police, prosecutors, mayors and ordinary 
citizens of America fought too hard last year to end six years of gridlock and 
put 100,000 police on the streets," said Reno.  "Today we have more than 
16,000 reasons why we can't turn back."  

     The President was joined at this morning's announcement by Attorney 
General Reno, COPS Director Joseph Brann and two officers from recipient 
jurisdictions.  The two police executives lauded today's awards.

     "The nationwide surge in senseless violence and gang activity are new to 
many of us outside of big cities,"  said Mary Ann Viverette, Chief of Police 
of Gaithersburg, MD (pop.  39,542).  "People think of us as Mayberry, but 
we're starting to feel more like Gotham." 

     "In smaller cities, towns and counties, just an officer or two can make 
a tremendous difference," said Sheriff Gene Kelly of Clark County Ohio.  
"Today's awards can help us start to turn things around."

     The jurisdictions notified today include 5,430 municipal police 
departments, 6 county police departments, 1,070 sheriffs' offices, 120 
Indian Tribal departments and 34 other law enforcement departments.

     Because of the overwhelming demand -- nearly half of the eligible 
jurisdictions applied -- the Department of Justice was unable to fully fund 
the more than 7,100 requests from its FY96 budget of $1.3 billion for police 
hiring, of which $538 million was allocated last year for other grants.  
Instead, $434 million was allocated to all eligible COPS FAST applicants 
according to their current number of sworn officers. 

HOW THE GRANTS WORK
  
     Grants will be awarded for up to 75 percent of the total salary and 
benefits earned by new or rehired officers over three years, with a maximum 
of $75,000 per officer.  The remaining share will be paid by state or local 
funds.

     Grant money is made available when the new officers are on the payroll.
Grantees have also agreed to complete a streamlined budget form and a simple
community policing implementation plan in order to receive the grant.  The
COPS staff will provide technical assistance to agencies as needed to develop
and refine their community policing plans.   Awards will be monitored through
site visits, audits, and electronic reporting techniques.

     Every law enforcement agency, city, and county government serving
populations less than 50,000 was mailed a one page COPS FAST application
last fall, and was asked to return it by December 31, 1994.

     Officers hired under COPS FAST must be in addition to, and not in lieu
of, officers that otherwise would have been hired by the agency.  Awards
granted under COPS FAST will not affect the eligibility of an agency to apply
for a grant under other COPS programs.

     Jurisdictions over 50,000 have been receiving grants under the separate
COPS AHEAD program.  Town and cities which applied to start a new department
were also not funded under COPS FAST grants, but will be able to apply for
other grants later this year.

     More hiring grants will be available later this year, and every
jurisdiction in America will be eligible to apply.

     Community policing is designed to complement traditional policing by
forging effective, innovative crime prevention partnerships between law
enforcement and the community.  "This money is a down payment on a safer
America," said Reno.  "These officers will help America's communities, large
and small, increase their police forces and create problem-solving
partnerships to fight crime."

     NOTE: Names of jurisdictions receiving grants can be obtained on the
Internet.  For Mosaic and Lynx users the address is http://www.usdoj.gov
and for gopher users the address is gopher.usdoj.gov.  Go to the "crime
bill information" section, and from there go the section entitled "COPS
FAST grants list -- 2/8/95" and search the state file you choose.


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