COPS Improvements Act of 2011

Bill: 112-s-207
Sponsor: Sen. Kohl, Herb [D-WI]
Introduced: 2011-01-26 in the Senate
Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement
Subjects: Crime prevention
Criminal investigation, prosecution, interrogation
Drug trafficking and controlled substances
Elementary and secondary education
Juvenile crime and gang violence
Law enforcement administration and funding
Law enforcement officers
Military facilities and property
School administration
Terrorism
Veterans' education, employment, rehabilitation
Violent crime

Summary:
action_date: 2011-01-26
text: 
COPS Improvements Act of 2011 - Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to modify the public safety and community policing grant program (COPS ON THE BEAT grant program) to: (1) establish within the Department of Justice (DOJ), under the general authority of the Attorney General, the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services to be headed by a Director; and (2) authorize the Attorney General to carry out more than one such program. 
 
Repeals provisions authorizing: (1) the Attorney General to give preferential consideration to applications for hiring and rehiring additional career law enforcement officers that involve a non-federal contribution exceeding a 25% minimum; and (2) the use of such grants to develop and implement either innovative programs to permit members of the community to assist state, tribal, and local law enforcement agencies in the prevention of crime in the community or new administrative and managerial systems to facilitate the adoption of community-oriented policing as an organization-wide philosophy.
 
Authorizes the use of such grants to: (1) hire school resource officers and establish local partnerships to combat crime, gangs, drug activities, and other problems in elementary and secondary schools; (2) establish and implement innovative programs to reduce and prevent illegal drug manufacturing, distribution, and use; (3) meet emerging law enforcement needs; (4) hire former members of the Armed Forces to serve as career law enforcement officers for deployment in community-oriented policing; (5) pay for additional community prosecuting programs to handle cases from specific geographic areas and to address counter-terrorism problems and violent crime in local communities; and (6) develop new technologies to assist state and local law enforcement agencies in crime prevention and training. 
 
Directs the Attorney General to ensure that the same percentage of the total number of eligible applicants in each state receive a grant.
 
Authorizes the Attorney General to extend grant periods and to renew grants if the grant recipient can demonstrate significant progress in achieving the objectives of the initial grant application.
 
Includes officers for the Amtrak Police Department within the definition of &quot;career law enforcement officer&quot; for purposes of such grant program.
 
Increases and extends the authorization of appropriations for the program for FY2012-FY2017.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2011-01-26
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. (text of measure as introduced: CR S288-289)
action_date: 2011-01-26
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S287-288)
action_date: 2011-01-26
text: Introduced in Senate