Clinton-Gore COPS Initiative Meets Congressional Mandates.

WASHINGTON, Sept. 6 /PRNewswire/ --

The Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) has increased the number of officers deployed in America's communities, advanced the utilization of problem-solving policing, helped police departments provide their officers with new technology, and made it easier and quicker for police departments to apply for and receive COPS grants. These findings are included in an independent national evaluation of the COPS program performed by the Urban Institute, and funded by the Justice Department's research and evaluation arm the National Institute of Justice (NIJ).

"Community policing has contributed to the decline in crime rates over the past seven years," said Attorney General Janet Reno. "The COPS office, through its hard work and innovative grant programs, has been a major catalyst in spreading the practice of community policing and advancing the concept of community justice throughout the country."

The study reports that:

* By May 1999, 100,500 officers and equivalents had been funded.

Preliminary estimates indicate that between 84,700 and 89,400 officers

will have been deployed by 2003.

* Because some officers will have departed before others begin service,

the Urban Institute estimates that the federally funded increase

(based on awards through May 1999) in policing levels will peak in

2001 between 69,000 and 84,600 before falling to between 62,700 and

83,900 in 2003.

* The COPS program accelerated the transition to local versions of

community policing in those agencies that were already advancing their

own local programs, rather than causing the acceleration.

* Of more than 8,000 law enforcement agencies that received COPS funds

through 1997, 1 percent of the grantees with the largest 1997 murder

counts received 31 percent of all COPS funds and the 10 percent of

jurisdictions with the highest murder counts received 50 percent of

the total COPS awards through 1997.

* Building partnerships with communities was commonplace for COPS

grantees; however, in a number of instances these partnerships were

short-term working arrangements.

* Many police departments and communities engaged in local problem

solving; the form and visibility of problem solving varied widely

throughout communities.

"The Institute is proud of its efforts to sponsor program evaluations for major crime control programs," said NIJ Acting Director Julie Samuels. "This evaluation provides important findings about how community policing has been implemented across the nation."

The evaluation covered the first four years of the COPS program, with specific focus on how COPS grants enabled law enforcement agencies to put more officers on the street to engage in community policing and redeploy existing officers to community policing by increasing officer productivity through the use of technology or by hiring civilians. The study released today reports on the findings through three of four survey "waves." Additional findings, such as updated statistics on the number of officers funded, will be available as other evaluation components are completed. The Urban Institute bases its projections on grants made by the COPS Office by May 1999.

"The COPS Office continues to aggressively pursue the goal of putting an additional 100,000 police officers on the street," said COPS Office Director Tom Frazier. "Based on our estimates that take into consideration the grants made beyond the survey's timeframe, as well as other enhancements, such as training and technical assistance and distance learning, I am confident that the Department will reach that goal by 2003."

To obtain a copy of the 300-page study go to NIJ's Website: http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/nij and click on "What's New." A 24-page Research in Brief, which highlights the study's key findings, is also available on NIJ's Website. Information about OJP is available at http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov.

* OJP and its component agencies' press releases are available for use without restriction.

NIJ-00-188