VANCOUVER, WA -- Saturday, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) met with police officers and the gang task force to discuss the importance of blocking the president’s threatened veto of federal funding to improve safety and reduce crime in Vancouver and throughout Washington state. The funding restores nearly $2.7 billion for programs, such as the Byrne Justice grants and the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) that benefit state and local law enforcement, filling a major gap after the president cut or even eliminated their budgets.  It was included in the Commerce, Justice, and Science Appropriations bill that passed in the Senate this week.

 

“Before being slashed by the Bush administration, COPS funding provided for safer streets in Vancouver and Washington state,” said Cantwell. “Now he’s threatening to veto the bill and prevent critical resources from getting into the hands of law enforcement once again. It’s a simple formula – more police on the streets means less crime.  Independent studies have statistically proven that the COPS program helps reduce crime and saves money. By restoring this program, we’re helping to build stronger and safer cities and town across the country.”

 

The COPS program has put nearly 2,000 police officers on the ground in Washington state and the program is vital to fighting rising violent crime in Washington state. Cantwell worked to include $110 million specifically to the hiring program-- to provide state and local law enforcement agencies with grants to hire additional police officers-- bringing the total funding for the overall COPS program to $660 million nationwide. 

 

Over the past four years, Vancouver has not received funding for the program to hire additional officers. Most COPS funding to hire police officers came in the 1990s. For example, in 1997 Vancouver received $4.5 million in funding for 60 police officer positions. 

 

In the last decade, the Vancouver police department has seen a major increase in violent crime. The Violent Crime Unit has investigated over 150 cases, and by 2006 that number jumped almost 140 percent to nearly 400 cases. Vancouver has seen an increase specifically in gang-related crime. But unfortunately because of budget issues, the gang-related task force was forced to disband in 2002.

 

In September, the Senate passed Cantwell-supported legislation to combat violent gangs, reduce gang-related crime, and cut gang membership.  The bill authorizes more than $1 billion over the next five years to identify and assist areas especially prone to gang violence, target at-risk youth for gang intervention and prevention initiatives, improve the coordination of anti-gang efforts, and deliver more resources to law enforcement agencies.  It also establishes new criminal gang offenses and strengthens the punishment for existing crimes.  

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