Res. No. 346 Title Resolution calling upon the United States Congress to support Senate Bill No. 924 and House Bill No. 2009, the COPS Reauthorization bill, to continue funding police officers for community policing efforts. Body By Council Members Nelson, Vallone, Addabbo, Avella, Clarke, DeBlasio, Felder, Fidler, Foster, Katz, Liu, Monserrate, Reyna, Sanders, Sears, Stewart and Weprin; also Council Member Gerson Whereas, The Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 created a grant program, referred to as Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS), which gives the Department of Justice the power to make grants to local governments "to increase police presence, to expand and improve cooperative efforts between law enforcement agencies and members of the community to address crime and disorder problems, and otherwise to enhance public safety;" and Whereas, On April 24, 2002, the New York City Council, by a unanimous vote, approved Resolution 144-A, which called upon the Department of Justice to approve the City's application for a waiver to continue to use funds for police officer salaries for Fiscal Years 2003 and 2004 under the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) program; and Whereas, The resolution further urged both the United States Congress and the Department of Justice to amend program requirements to enable federal funds to continue to assist the New York City Police Department in its crime-fighting efforts; and Recently, The Bush Administration has proposed cutting money for the COPS program, which New York Senators Schumer and Clinton and Congressman Weiner contend would deprive the tri-state area of 480 million dollars in police funding over six years and could cost the city nearly 2,000 police officers; and Whereas, Two bills pending in the United States Congress, S 924 and HR 2009, known as the PROTECTION Act ("Providing Reliable Officers, Technology, Education, Community Prosecutors, and Training for Our Neighborhoods Act of 2001"), would continue funding to this most valuable crime-fighting program by allocating 1.15 billion dollars to the program over a six year period; and Whereas, In addition to insuring funding to the COPS program, these bills would also increase prosecutor presence and enhance law enforcement access to new technologies, pay overtime to existing career law enforcement officers to the extent that such overtime is devoted to community policing efforts, and allow grants to assist police departments in employing specified professional scientific and technological advancements; and Whereas, The COPS program has assisted in reducing crime nationwide, and here in New York City, by providing funding for the hiring of additional police officers; and Whereas, Under the program, the NYPD, since 1995, has received 300 million dollars in funding to hire approximately 4,000 additional officers; and Whereas, In light of the new realities of terrorism, the City must still expend resources to increase police presence in communities and control crime, and any effort to assist in this goal, such as the COPS program, should be expanded and funded; now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the Council of the City of New York calls upon the United States Congress to support Senate Bill No. 924 and House Bill No. 2009, the COPS Reauthorization bill, to continue funding police officers for community policing efforts. TB LS# 631