Community Policing

This report reviews aspects of the Community Oriented Policing Servicing Program--"COPS on the Beat." Under the community policing approach to law enforcement, citizens, police department, and other agencies work together to identify crime problems and come up with solutions. Community policing began to emerge during the late 1970s, and the Justice Department has supported community policing efforts through various grants for about 15 years. GAO describes the grant application, selection, and monitoring process for the program. GAO also compares the crime rates in applicant and nonapplicant jurisdictions, the reasons some of the jurisdictions chose not apply for program grants, and public safety issues identified by a sample of jurisdictions applying for program grants.

GAO found that: (1) jurisdictions with higher crime rates were more likely to apply for COPS grants; (2) nearly 92 percent of the jurisdictions applying for grants received initial approval; (3) some jurisdictions were uncertain about being able to continue officer funding after their grant expired and about their ability to provide the required 25 percent match; (4) the jurisdictions that did not apply for COPS grants cited cost-related factors as their major concern; and (5) the most frequent crimes reported by COPS Funding Accelerated for Smaller Towns (FAST) applicants were property crime and domestic violence.