NCJ Number
158757
Date Published
1995
Length
22 pages
Annotation
This report presents the methodology and findings of a review of various aspects of the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Program, "Cops on the Beat."
Abstract
The report describes the grant application, selection, and monitoring processes for the COPS: Phase I, COPS Funding Accelerated for Smaller Towns (FAST), and COPS Accelerated Hiring, Education, and Deployment (AHEAD) programs. The review also provides for the COPS FAST and COPS AHEAD programs a comparison of the crime rates in applicant and nonapplicant jurisdictions, the reasons some jurisdictions chose not to apply for COPS program grants, and the public safety issues identified by a sample of jurisdictions applying for COPS FAST grants. Researchers conducted telephone interviews with a random sample of 289 nonapplicant jurisdictions to determine why they did not apply for a grant. They also reviewed a random sample of 207 COPS FAST approved applications to determine public safety issues identified by applicant jurisdictions. Overall, the higher the crime rate, the more likely a jurisdiction was to apply for a COPS grant. Approximately 92 percent of jurisdictions that applied for a grant received initial approval. The primary reasons the contacted jurisdictions chose not to apply for COPS grants were cost-related. Property crimes and domestic violence were the most often included crimes in the top five public safety issues among approved COPS FAST applicants. Appended details of objectives, scope, and methodology