NORTHWEST INDIANA | U.S. Rep. Pete Visclosky said he voted Thursday to reinvigorate a program begun under President Bill Clinton to put more police officers on local streets.
Visclosky, D-Ind., said he supported the Community Oriented Policing Services, or COPS, Improvements Act, which passed the House by a bipartisan vote of 342-78.
It appropriates $1.25 billion per year in hiring grants that will be used to hire an estimate 50,000 new police officers nationwide in the next five years. It also authorizes $350 million to equip law enforcement with cutting-edge crime fighting tools, and $200 million a year for hiring community prosecutors.
COPS has sent nearly $23 million in grants to Northwest Indiana, helping 29 police departments and law enforcement agencies put 267 new officers on the streets since it was created in 1994. - By Times Staff
