WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Barbara A. Mikulski and Congressman Chris Van Hollen (both D-Md.) today announced the Department of Justice has awarded the Montgomery County Police Department a $750,000 Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Universal Hiring Program (UHP) grant. The competitive grant¬– one of 62 awarded to law enforcement agencies across the country– will enable the Montgomery County Police Department to hire ten additional sworn officers for community policing to help fight crime.

“Our state and local police are feeling stretched and strained. President Bush’s cuts to critical crime-fighting programs, like COPS hiring grants, have meant they have had to do more with the less. At the same time, the rise in violent crime and the critical ongoing fight against terrorism have placed new pressures on them as they work every day to keep our nation and our neighborhoods safe,” said Senator Mikulski. “I will keep fighting in the U.S. Senate to give our law enforcement the resources they need to clean up the streets, protect our families, and fight the crime that is destroying communities.”

“I am pleased that we were able to help secure this funding for Montgomery County,” said Congressman Chris Van Hollen. “It is important that we provide communities with the resources they need to keep our streets safe. COPS grants help make neighborhoods safer by increasing the number of officers available to patrol local communities and reduce crime.”

COPS hiring grants help law enforcement agencies put more officers on the streets, which, studies show, leads to less crime. Under the Clinton administration, the COPS program put 118,000 police on the streets in 13,400 communities across the country and the nation experienced a 10 percent drop in violent crime from 1993-1998. Since President Bush came to office, he has consistently slashed or eliminated funding for the COPS program.

As Chairwoman of the Commerce, Justice, Science Appropriations Subcommittee, Senator Mikulski has led the fight to restore President Bush’s draconian cuts to federal programs, such as COPS hiring grants, that assist state and local communities in fighting violent crime. Last year, Senator Mikulski successfully secured $587 million for the COPS program, including $20 million for COPS hiring grants. It is the first dedicated funding stream to hire new cops since the Clinton administration. President Bush’s budget had proposed zero funding for the program.