For Immediate Release:

Monday, July 31, 2000

(Washington, D.C.) – U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-Wash.) today announced that the Clark County Sheriff's Department will receive $450,000. The money, awarded by the U.S. Justice Department's Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS), will allow Clark County to hire and help pay for six new police officers.

"This money will help us to put more police on the streets and help make our cities and town safer," Murray said. "Too often, the need for more police is ignored or overlooked by federal funding programs. I'm proud of the work the COPS program has done and continues to do in ensuring the security of every American."

The money was awarded under the Universal Hiring Program, which provides funding for 75 percent of the total salary and benefits for each officer hired during a three-year span, up to $75,000 per officer.

Since it began in 1994, the COPS program has funded more than 100,000 new officers. President Clinton and members of Congress have proposed extending the COPS program for an additional five years to add 50,000 more officers to America's streets.