Recovery Act: Good news, bad news for Texas
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The police departments in Houston, Austin, Fort Worth and Corpus Christi were noticeably absent from the list of cities receiving funding administered by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) through its COPS Hiring Recovery Program. Others like San Antonio, Dallas and Arlington got millions.
Texas was not alone, however, in having major cities ignored when funding was allocated. Cities such as New York, Pittsburgh and Seattle got no funding either. DOJ chose to fund cities that faced serious budgetary problems and those that have relatively high crime rates. Cities such as New York got a double whammy. First, the city's budget is not awash in red ink. And second, the city has a relatively low crime rate.
Some 7,200 state and local agencies applied for federal funding for more than 39,000 officer positions, representing requests totaling $8.3 billion. Only 1,046 law enforcement agencies from each of the 50 states were funded and will be provided 100 percent of the approved salary and benefits for 4,699 officers for three years. Only 31 of the 454 Texas agencies applying for funds got awards. Police departments receiving the grants will then be required to retain the grant-funded positions for a fourth year.
Texas ended up with its 31 entities receiving funding of more than $36.8 million, which means funding for 196 officers statewide. There were other big winners in Texas in addition to the San Antonio PD. The City of Dallas received nearly $8.9 million that will fund 50 officers while the Arlington Police Department got $6.1 million for 31 officers. The Galveston Sheriff's Office will use its $1.8 million for nine officers and the City of Galveston will use its $1.6 million for eight officers. The City of Port Arthur will fund six officers with its $1.1 million. To view the complete list of awards by city in Texas and by city in the remaining 49 states, click HERE and look under "Recent Reports."
