Washington, D.C. - Today, Congressman Brian Baird (D-WA-03) announced that almost $4 million in federal funding has been awarded to Southwest Washington law enforcement agencies to hire additional police officers.  The funding comes from the Department of Justice's Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) program, as part of funds made available through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.   This money will pay the salaries, and all related expenses for 16 new entry level officers in Southwest Washington for 3 years.

 "The COPS program has been invaluable in the fight against drug related crimes in Southwest Washington.  Because of this program, our communities have been able to secure the money necessary to put more police officers on the streets, and make every neighborhood safer," said Congressman Baird.  "In these tough economic times, law enforcement agencies have been forced to institute hiring freezes, or even lay off officers.  For the safety of our communities, we cannot let that happen.  This money from the Recovery Act will provide communities with the resources they need to ensure they're able to adequately protect residents."

The funding announced today is part of one billion dollars that has been released nationwide.  This money will enable law enforcement agencies in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Northern Mariana Islands and Guam to hire an additional 4,699 police officers.

The funding coming to local agencies breaks down as follows: