Hank votes to keep COPS on the streets

Congressman votes to restore funding for ‘critical’ public safety program

WASHINGTON, D.C. – In a bipartisan rebuke of the GOP budget plan to scrap funding for the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) hiring program, the House passed an amendment that restores $298 million in funding to the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) hiring program, allowing more than 1,300 officers to remain on the street.

“The COPS Hiring Program goes to the very core of our mission in government – to provide grants that create or preserve local law enforcement jobs and helps keep our community safe,” Rep. Johnson said. “I will continue to fight for critical funding for my district.”

Johnson is a long-time champion of the COPS program, which was created in 1994 to put more police officers on the streets, sponsoring its reauthorization in Congress for the last the four years.

Since 1995, the COPS program has invested more than $177 million in Georgia law enforcement agencies, which was used to hire more than 2,400 officers and provide more than $24 million in technology upgrades.

In 2009, DeKalb County was awarded $3,112,845 to fund 15 officer positions, and Conyers received more than $400,000 to fund three officers. Last year, Doraville received a grant for $385,000 to hire two additional officers under the program.

“Hank has always been a friend of law enforcement – ever since his days on the DeKalb County Commission,” said Doraville Chief John King. “It’s this kind of leadership we need in Washington to help us keep officers on our streets protecting citizens.”

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