Congressman Boswell Votes to Put 50,000 more Cops on the Nation's Streets

Press Release

Congressman Boswell Votes to Put 50,000 more Cops on the Nation's Streets

Congressman Leonard Boswell today joined a bipartisan majority in the House of Representatives to pass H.R. 1700, the COPS Reauthorization Act. This bill will help local law enforcement agencies hire an additional 50,000 police officers on the beat over the next six years.

"The COPS program has been a huge success across the country," said Boswell. "Unfortunately, in recent years under the Bush Administration, funding was drastically cut and totally eliminated last year."

The COPS hiring grants program was created under the Clinton Administration in 1994. Under the program, our nation experienced a significant drop in crime rates and independent studies confirm that these grants played a significant role. According to a nonpartisan GAO study, between 1998 and 2000, the hiring grants were responsible for reducing crimes by about 200,000 to 225,000 crimes, one third of which were violent.

"Over ten years, our state of Iowa received $82,461,735, which funded 741 additional police officers and sheriffs deputies to engage in community policing, including crime prevention," said Boswell. "Iowa's 3rd Congressional District received a total of $28.4 million, enabling local law enforcement to hire 232 police officers."

"With crime back on the rise, reauthorizing the COPS program is more vital than ever," added Boswell.

This legislation 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.

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