(Washington, DC) Today, the Congressman John Yarmuth (KY-3) and the House of Representatives voted to approve the COPS Improvement Act, which will add 50,000 more police officers on our nation’s streets, by a vote of 381-34. 

Since 1994, the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) program has placed 100,000 additional police office across the nation, over 350 of them in Louisville.  The city has also received more than $33 million through the initiative for law enforcement resources.  However in the last six years, the President and Congress all but eliminated the COPS program.  Over that time, violent crime has steadily increased nationwide, according to assessments from the FBI and Law Enforcement Association.  By renewing and expanding the program, this legislation is expected to bring more than $10 million into Louisville for added equipment, technology, and more than 150 new local law enforcement officers.

“Today, as our local law enforcement confronts new, global threats, it is crucial that we continue to provide the resources our community’s law enforcement officers need,” Congressman Yarmuth said.  “This legislation will be crucial, not only for law enforcement, but for the safety and security of Louisville families.  These brave men and women already put their lives on the line to keep our communities safe and secure, and at a time when we are asking them to do even more, the federal government must uphold its end of the bargain by ensuring that they have the support and equipment they need.”

Yarmuth has been an active supporter and cosponsor of this legislation.  In March, after the Bush Administration’s budget slashed COPS funding by 94 percent, Yarmuth successfully urged the budget committee to restore the funding.