Community Oriented Policing Services, Office of

Origins and Legislation

During the 1992 presidential election, crime was at historically high levels in the United States, and there was little public confidence in the ability of the government to develop effective responses to it. In addition, police practitioners and researchers were growing increasingly skeptical of the ability of traditional law enforcement models characterized by routine patrol, rapid response, follow-up investigations, and arrests to alone be sufficient to reduce crime.

At the same time, notions of community policing that emphasized the public and police working together as partners to develop longer-term solutions to crime problems and having the police take on proactive roles in crime reduction were increasingly seen as viable approaches to guide public safety efforts. These notions coalesced around the campaign pledge from then-presidential candidate Bill Clinton to put 100,000 new community policing officers on the streets of the nation. The notion of community-oriented policing appealed to both advocates of get-tough crime control approaches, who focused on the policing aspect, and to adherents of prevention and community enhancement, who focused on the community aspect. After his election, President Clinton worked with Congress to craft a comprehensive bill that addressed crime and public safety and included funding for police.

With bipartisan support, on September 13, 1994, the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act (the Crime Act) was signed into law. The Crime Act allocated $8.8 billion dollars over six years for Title I, the Public Safety Partnership and Community Policing Act of 1994. This represented an unprecedented investment in local law enforcement; prior to the Crime Act the total federal investment in the entire criminal justice system had never significantly exceeded $1 billion. One of the most controversial aspects of the legislation was the concern that the investment amounted to “federalizing” what had traditionally been state and local functions. As a result of this concern, attention was given to designing a program that did not preempt local autonomy and control, yet achieved specific program goals that the federal government had determined.

To administer these funds, on October 9, 1994, then-Attorney General Janet Reno created the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, a separate office within the Department of Justice that would report directly to the Associate Attorney General.

Title I outlined four specific goals:

• 1.
  Increase the number of law enforcement officers interacting directly with members of the community.
• 2.
  Provide training to law enforcement officers to enhance their problem-solving, service, and other skills needed in interacting with members of the community.[Page 43]
• 3.
  Encourage the development and implementation of innovative programs to permit members of the community to assist state, Indian tribal government, and local law enforcement agencies in the prevention of crime.
• 4.
  Encourage the development of new technologies to assist state, Indian tribal government, and local law enforcement agencies in reorienting the emphasis of their activities from reacting to crime to preventing crime.

To achieve these goals, the COPS Office developed various grant programs and training and technical assistance initiatives, the primary of which are described below.

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