(Washington, DC) - Congresswoman Corrine Brown was thrilled to announce that $1 billion in grants to fund the hiring and rehiring of 4,699 law enforcement officers under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act were being awarded nationwide, with the City of Jacksonville slated to receive $9,212,250 to bring on 50 additional officers.  The grants will be administered by the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS), through the federal agency's COPS Hiring Recovery Program, and will be awarded to 1046 law enforcement agencies from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Northern Mariana Islands and Guam. 

The grants will provide 100 percent of the approved salary and benefits for entry level officer positions over a three year period.  Police departments receiving the grants will then be required to retain the grant funded positions for a fourth year.  The funding provides much needed support to state and local government budgets, and will help the nation's law enforcement agencies add and retain the manpower needed to fight crime more effectively through community policing.

Congresswoman Brown made the following statement:

"The Community Oriented Police Services (COPS) program is one of the most important in our nation's fight against crime. Simply put, it makes sense to have more police on the streets of dangerous neighborhoods, which is what COPS grants provide. Across the state of Florida over the last decade, there has been a dramatic spike in crime, especially violent ones.  In recent years, the city of Jacksonville has endured the highest homicide rate in the state, with more murders than Miami, Orlando and Tampa combined.  Moreover, Orlando's rate has not fared much better, as South Florida did not trail far behind either with the Miami-Dade area witnessing dozens of children under the age of 18 killed by gunfire. 

Statistically, for every $1 invested in COPS grants, there is a decline of 10 violent crimes and 27 property crimes per 100,000 residents, according to the Department of Justice.  These grants will go a long way towards reversing the drastic cuts made to the program by the Bush administration during the former President's term.  I wholeheartedly believe that putting more 'cops on the beat' serves as a sound first step towards addressing our nation's crime problem, and the funding being released today will contribute greatly to that effort for the City of Jacksonville."

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