February 2, 2009

Criminal and Social Justice Committee Focuses on Impact of Economy on Police Departments

COPS Funding in Stimulus Bill Must Reflect Current Pay Scales, Economic Crisis

By Laura DeKoven Waxman

The leaders of two of the nation's most prominent police executive organizations provided mayors with an overview of the most pressing issues facing local police departments today, during the January 18 meeting of the Conference of Mayors Criminal and Social Justice Committee. Leading the list were the impact of the economic downturn on city police budgets and the need to assure that any funding for police included in stimulus legislation would meet current compensation needs.

Most police departments anticipate budget cuts, and some will even have to cut the number of sworn officer positions, according to Police Executive Research Forum Executive Director Chuck Wexler. Wexler told the group that a large number of departments will be forced to cut overtime, and that additional cuts are likely to be made in technology, training, and special units, which may have to be scaled back. Wexler also said that while there is no empirical evidence, he would argue that when there are more cops there is less crime.

Miami Police Chief and PERF President John Timoney agreed that the number of cops a department has matters and cautioned that when the number of officers is reduced the number of arrests made also declines. He commented that the COPS program has made a difference, and enabled then Philadelphia Mayor Ed Rendell to increase the number of officers in the Philadelphia Police Department while he was commissioner there.

Seattle Police Chief and Major Cities Chiefs President R. Gil Kerlikowske briefed the mayors on several of the Major Cities Chiefs priority areas. He discussed the need to be able to use COPS funding to hire DNA and other technicians, and the importance training and conducting research to determine what is effective. He also highlighted the need to address "the weapons issue" at the federal level, and to take the "handcuffs" off ATF so it can share data with state and local law enforcement.

COPS Office Chief of Staff Tim Quinn (who became acting director on January 20) discussed the COPS funding provided in the House stimulus bill and agreed, in response to comments by Committee Chairman and Rochester Mayor Robert Duffy, that the $75,000 cap on federal support per officer doesn't reflect the actual cost of an officers' salary and benefits and could pose a problem for cities which wish to take advantage of the funding. He indicated that some cities have had to turn back awards because of the cap. That cap was first enacted in the 1994 crime bill and has never been increased to reflect inflation or actual costs.

Quinn also reported that the vast majority of officers hired through COPS have been retained by local police departments. He commented that some may have to be laid off due to budget cuts, but indicated that the current COPS statute provides some flexibility to work with jurisdictions in an effort to avoid layoffs.

Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter suggested it would be useful to study what has happened in cities that were able to increase the number of officers through the COPS program, but have had to reduce that number in recent years. He also expressed concern that his city may not be able to afford new cops given the current budget situation.

Two mayors - Arlene Mulder of Arlington Heights, Vice Chair of the Committee, and Ed Pawlowski of Allentown - both discussed the negative impact that police department pensions are having on their city budgets.

Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann discussed the fact that cities need to be safe and secure in order to be able to stimulate the economy and that it is important to make that point clearly in the economic recovery debate. Charleston Mayor Joseph P. Riley, Jr. agreed that providing funding for police officers is an important, through different, kind of stimulus measure, and cautioned that it's critical to make sure cities are able to take advantage of the funding that is provided.

At the start of the meeting, Duffy briefed the mayors on the Mayors' National/Metro Agenda on Crime for President Obama and the 111th Congress, which grew out of the forum on crime the Conference held in Philadelphia August 5 and 6 and was written by a working group of mayors and police chiefs, chaired by Louisville (KY) Mayor Jerry Abramson. That agenda focuses on investments, prevention, gun safety, gangs and illegal drugs, and executive orders and administrative action.