U.S. Senators Charles E. Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand
today announced that $5,831,550 in Department of Justice Community Oriented
Policing Services (COPS) grants will be awarded to the Rochester Police Department.
The funding, coming through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA),
will support the hiring or rehiring of up to 30 police officers to ensure that
the agencies have adequate staff through the economic downturn.
“Keeping cops on the beat is one of the best impacts of the
Economic Recovery Act. These federal dollars are absolutely essential to
budget-stressed local law enforcement in places like Rochester,” said Schumer.
“In these tough economic times, where budgets are being stretched to the limit,
these funds will save our law enforcement agencies from taking the dangerous
step of eliminating officers from their ranks. I have worked continuously for
stimulus funding to keep cops on the streets, and will continue to fight for
more resources to keep our communities safe.”
“Law enforcement
agencies in New York have been squeezed by budget cuts, forced to lay off
critical personnel, and reduce key crime prevention programs,” said Senator
Gillibrand. “These COPS grants will make our streets safe, neighborhoods
secure, and create new jobs in law enforcement. Protecting our families and
communities is the highest priority of our law enforcement professionals, and
protecting jobs for New York is my highest priority.”
The funding is being allocated as part of the
COPS Hiring Recovery Program (CHRP), which will award a total of $1 billion in
ARRA funding to 1,046 law enforcement agencies nationwide to either create or
preserve officer positions. CHRP funding will ensure that state, local and tribal
law enforcement agencies have the necessary resources to maintain their
community policing capacity at a time when city and town budgets have
threatened forces with painful cuts. CHRP grants fully fund entry-level
salaries and benefits for three years for newly-hired, full-time sworn
officers, and can fund officers recently laid off or scheduled to be laid off
due to local budget cuts.