More than 10,000 policing agencies have received grants, funding more than 88,000 police to fight crime since the COPS program began in 1994. According to the FBI's Uniform Crime Report, the nation's crime rate has fallen 19 percent during the last six years. Community policing is widely credited for the sharp downtown by police chiefs, sheriffs, and criminal justice experts.
Local jurisdictions match the federal contribution.
These grants will enable cities and towns to put more officers on the beat, where they can stop crime before it happens by tackling problems that lead to crime and by working with the community to attack crime more effectively.