In the early 1990s, the public was fed up with the crime in American cities. According to Representative Charles E. Schumer, "The public is anguished about crime, they are telling legislators: Do something!". In response, President Bill Clinton during his 1992 election campaign, promised to put 100,000 new police officers on the street to combat the rise in gang violence. Addressing violent crime became a goal of Congress and the President during Clinton’s first term. In 1994, they passed the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act which included the creation of the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) to aid in fighting gang violence in our inner cities and reach Clinton’s goal of 100,000 new police officers.
With Bill Clinton took office, Congress began working on a bill that that would provide harsh punishment for hard-core violent criminals while going easy on first-time offenders and drug addicts. Schumer was the chairman of the Judiciary subcommittee on crime and criminal justice so much of the burden fell on him. Schumer had to form coalitions and make deals with both liberal Democrats and conservative GOP members like Rep. Henry J. Hyde of Illinois who called major parts of the bill "tough talk, weak substance and misdirected spending". Schumer succeeded and the 1994 Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act which included the famous "three strikes and you’re out" clause was sent to the President Clinton's desk.
Among other things like harsher punishment for violent crimes, the bill authorized the appropriation of grants to local communities to hire community policing officers and develop training for community members and law enforcement agencies. In October of 1994, Attorney General Janet Reno announced the establishment of the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) to administer these grants. To help reach the goal of placing 100,000 new law enforcement officers on the streets, Congress appropriated $1.4 billion per year for between 1994 and 1999. The COPS total budget authority decreased significantly after 2000. By FY2019 the budget was $304 million. This drop-in funding reflects changed made by Congress in recent years to move traditional COPS programs such as Project Safe Neighborhoods or the Bulletproof Vest Grant program to state and local law enforcement agencies.
One of the initiatives funded out of the COPS office was the President's Anti-Gang Initiative (IGI). The COPS office helped communities like Los Angeles fund programs to combat gangs and prevent youth from joining gangs. For example, Los Angeles launched the Community Law Enforcement Area Recovery (CLEAR) program to coordinate the strategies and coordinate resources of participating agencies to combat gang crime. It the first six months of the program, Los Angeles reported a 39 percent drop in gang-related violent crime in the areas targeted. Another program created under AGI was the Gang Resistance Education and Training (GREAT) Program which brought uniformed police officers to elementary, junior high and middle school to provide curriculum and extended activities with the intent of reducing gang activity in the school and communities.
Two years into the program, President Clinton gave a brief report on its successes thus far and urged Congress to " stick with a strategy that's working and keep the crime rate coming down". After two years, the country was already a third of the way to reaching the goal of 100,000 new police officers. President Clinton shared that in New York, Murders were down 25%, while in St. Louis they were down 18%. It was a good start, but there was still much work to be done. President Clinton explained that for Community policing to work, we need to build a bond of mutual respect and trust between the police and our communities. President Clinton reached out to all Americans asking them "to respect and support our law enforcement officers". He also asked all Police Officers to serve as role models and heroes for our children.
"Our fourth great challenge is to take our streets back from crime and gangs and drugs. At last we have begun to find a way to reduce crime, forming community partnerships with local police forces to catch criminals and prevent crime. This strategy, called community policing, is clearly working. Violent crime is coming down all across America. In New York City, murders are down 25 percent; in St. Louis, 18 percent; in Seattle, 32 percent. But we still have a long way to go before our streets are safe and our people are free from fear.
The crime bill of 1994 is critical to the success of community policing. It provides funds for 100,000 new police in communities of all sizes. We're already a third of the way there. And I challenge the Congress to finish the job. Let us stick with a strategy that's working and keep the crime rate coming down.
Community policing also requires bonds of trust between citizens and police. I ask all Americans to respect and support our law enforcement officers. And to our police, I say, our children need you as role models and heroes. Don't let them down."
References
Presidency.ucsb.edu. (2019). Address Before a Joint Session of the Congress on the State of the Union | The American Presidency Project. [online] Available at: https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/address-before-joint-session-the-congress-the-state-the-union-10 [Accessed 7 Oct. 2019].Fas.org. (2019). Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Program. [online] Available at: https://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/IF10922.pdf [Accessed 7 Oct. 2019].
Lapdonline.org. (2019). Keeping Kids out of Gangs - Los Angeles Police Department. [online] Available at: http://www.lapdonline.org/get_informed/content_basic_view/23480 [Accessed 7 Oct. 2019].
Los Angeles Times. (2019). PROFILE : Rep. Schumer Pushes, Pulls to Mold Crime Bill : Brooklyn lawmaker gave a little to the left and a little to the right in forming the measure. To him, the main point is that it likely will pass.. [online] Available at: https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-04-12-mn-45170-story.html [Accessed 7 Oct. 2019].
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