By Daniel Massey
Lauding the federal Community Oriented Policing Services program for preventing thousands of crimes in New York City since its launch in 1994, U.S. Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-Queens) Tuesday joined U.S. Sen. Joseph Biden (D-Delaware) in announcing legislation to keep the program alive in the face of potential budget cuts proposed by President George W. Bush.
Bush has proposed cutting $330 million from the crime prevention program’s hiring initiative, but Weiner’s legislation, and Biden’s companion bill in the Senate, would provide $1.5 billion to sustain COPS over the next six years.
“The COPS program is a proven winner, cutting crime and making neighborhoods safe in New York City,” said Weiner. “The only ones helped by the Bush COPS cut will be the criminals.”
Since its inception, the federal-local partnership program has brought more than 7,000 cops to New York City, reducing the number of violent crimes by 11,563 and cutting overall crimes by 58,992, according to a study commissioned by Weiner and Biden released in conjunction with the announcement.
The study, based on a formula developed by researchers at the University of Nebraska and Southwest Texas State University, showed the COPS program has prevented 756,319 crimes nationwide, including 153,428 violent crimes since 1995.
Tuesday’s announcement comes at a time when the New York Police Department is facing budget cuts that could cut its force down to 35,825, from a peak of 41,000 during the Giuliani administration.
The Bush budget cuts would take community police officers off the streets, compounding police force reductions that threaten to reduce the NYPD to its smallest level in a decade, Weiner charged.
“We think the federal government should be doing more to help cities like New York, not less,” he said.
The Weiner/Biden legislation would provide $600 million to put police officers on the street, $350 million for new crime fighting technology and $200 million for community prosecutors, the congressman said.
“This legislation will keep the COPS program going at full strength, keeping police officers on the beat,” he said.
In a separate matter, Weiner criticized the Republican National Committee Tuesday for using a photo of Bush on Air Force One in the hours following Sept. 11 to raise funds for upcoming political campaigns.
“Any use of imagery related to 9/11 for fund-raising is inappropriate and smacks of exploitation,” Weiner said in a statement released Tuesday.
Reach reporter Daniel Massey by e-mail at Timesledger@aol.com or call 229-0300, Ext. 156.
