U.S. Senators Charles E. Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand
today announced that $2,664,012 in Department of Justice Community Oriented
Policing Services (COPS) grants will be awarded to the city police departments
in the cities of Troy and Schenectady. The funding, coming through the American
Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), will support the hiring or rehiring of up
to twelve police officers to ensure that the agencies have adequate staff
through the economic downturn. Troy will receive $802,708 to support four
officer positions and Schenectady will receive $1,861,304 to support eight
positions.
“Keeping cops on the beat is one of the best impacts
of the Economic Recovery Act. These federal dollars are absolutely essential to
budget-stressed local law enforcement in places like the Capital Region,” said
Schumer. “In these tough economic times, where budgets are being stretched to
the limit, these funds will save our law enforcement agencies from taking the
dangerous step of eliminating officers from their ranks. I have worked
continuously for stimulus funding to keep cops on the streets, and will
continue to fight for more resources to keep our communities safe.”
“Law enforcement agencies in New York have been squeezed by
budget cuts, forced to lay off critical personnel, and reduce key crime prevention
programs,” said Senator Gillibrand. “These COPS grants will make our streets
safe, neighborhoods secure, and create new jobs in law enforcement. Protecting
our families and communities is the highest priority of our law enforcement
professionals, and protecting jobs for New York is my highest priority.”
The funding is being allocated as part of the COPS Hiring
Recovery Program (CHRP), which will award a total of $1 billion in ARRA funding
to 1,046 law enforcement agencies nationwide to either create or preserve
officer positions. CHRP funding will ensure that state, local and tribal law
enforcement agencies have the necessary resources to maintain their community
policing capacity at a time when city and town budgets have threatened forces
with painful cuts. CHRP grants fully fund entry-level salaries and benefits for
three years for newly-hired, full-time sworn officers, and can fund officers
recently laid off or scheduled to be laid off due to local budget cuts.