For Immediate Release: May 15, 2007

Sutton Supports Putting More Police Officers on the Streets

Congresswoman Betty Sutton votes to put 50,000 more police officers on our nation's streets

Washington, D.C. - Today, Congresswoman Betty Sutton voted in favor of H.R. 1700, the C.O.P.S. Improvement Act of 2007, reauthorizing the successful law enforcement program.

"Since 1994, $19,705,621 in C.O.P.S. grants have been awarded to law enforcement agencies in Ohio's 13th Congressional District to hire an additional 341 police officers and sheriff deputies. The C.O.P.S. program has been a tremendous help for our communities in preventing crime and keeping our families safe," Sutton said. "With the passage of this important legislation, more than $6 million in additional funding is expected to go to the 13th District alone, allowing our communities to put an extra 146 officers on the streets."

The C.O.P.S. Program was originally authorized in 1994 and is often referred to as the 100,000 Cops Program. It provides additional funding through grants for local law enforcement agencies to apply to the C.O.P.S. Office to hire additional officers or to purchase technology equipment that increases efficiency and enables the law enforcement agency to reassign officers onto the streets.

From 1995 to 2005, the C.O.P.S. Program was incredibly successful at reducing crime across the country, allowing local law enforcement agencies to hire 117,000 additional police officers nationwide. Over the past several years, though, the President and the Republican-led Congress decimated the C.O.P.S. Program, reducing funding from more than $1 billion per year in the late 1990s to $10 million in 2005, and finally completely eliminating it in 2006.

"I was proud to vote to reauthorize the C.O.P.S. program, restoring funding for this successful program. It has been endorsed by the International Association of Chiefs of Police, the National Sheriffs Association, the Fraternal Order of Police, the National Association of Police Organizations, the U.S. Conference of Mayors and the National League of Cities. It is our responsibility to give local police departments the resources they need to keep us safe, especially now, as crime is on the rise again in many of our communities," Sutton said.

Under the C.O.P.S. Improvement Act, the State of Ohio may be able to hire as many 1,598 additional police officers. The legislation also provides Ohio's 13th District with over $1 million in additional technology grants to assist law enforcement agents.

"Our police departments need our full support. FBI Statistics show that crime is growing in the United States for the first time since the early 1990s. The C.O.P.S. Program helped make our country safer then, and law enforcement officials believe it will help them reverse this troubling trend once again," Sutton said. "Reauthorizing the C.O.P.S. Program keeps our commitment to the American people."

Contact: Ian Mandel at 202-225-3401