Passage of Spending Bill Includes Priority Funding Status for Local Police
WASHINGTON, DC – As part of the bill that funds the U.S. Justice Department, Congressman John Salazar (CO-3) today secured priority funding status for Grand Junction Police Department projects. The House Commerce, Justice, State (CJS) Appropriations bill includes Salazar’s requested language directing the Justice Department to fund the Grand Junction Police Department’s training and equipment needs. Salazar hailed the passage of the bill as a key step in improving safety in Grand Junction.
“If we’re talking about making America safer, we need to start by giving our first responders the training and equipment they need,” said Salazar. “Our local police put their lives on the line for us every day, the least we can do is honor their service with real support.”
Given the tight federal budget, inclusion in the list of projects is a significant accomplishment. The effort to fund the Grand Junction Police Department’s training and equipment needs cleared its biggest hurdle today, when Salazar secured funds for “Grand Junction, Colorado for law enforcement technology programs.” Though a specific funding level is not set until the local group completes their paperwork, the funding level will be significant - in 2004, similar “priority status” efforts were rewarded with $1 to $4 million.
The Grand Junction Police Department plans to apply the funds to two projects:
Western Colorado Training Complex
Western Colorado agencies currently indicate that training facilities for public safety training are inadequate, non-existent, or so distantly located that the region’s agencies cannot afford to provide critical training for their staff. With increasing government mandates for basic and recurrent training for law enforcement and fire providers, federal support is necessary for the development of a training complex to serve Western Colorado.
In-Car Video Systems
Funding would be used to obtain and outfit the department’s fleet of patrol cars with in-car video systems in order to document and record contact with subjects during traffic contacts. Presently the Police Department does not have this capability in any of its patrol cars.
“The reality is that rural communities have fewer resources,” said Salazar. “It is unfair for local agencies to bear the burden of federal mandates. We need to make it easier, not harder, for police officers to keep us safe. We need to secure federal funds to make our communities safer.”
As part of the Justice Department funding bill, Salazar also supported efforts to reinstate funding for the COPS program. For the first time since this vital community safety program was created, funding for COPS hiring has been zeroed out: 2003 - $1.1 billion; 2004 - $113.7 million; 2005 - $9.9 million; 2006 - $0.
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