The COPS Program and Public Safety
Strengthening Community Policing
It was 20 years ago last month that, with the essential support of President Clinton, the Violent Crime and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 was made into law — a landmark statute, authored by then-Senator Joe Biden, that created the Justice Department’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, or COPS. This was an audacious, new concept, and through the investments it has made — and the approaches it has championed — in the intervening years, the COPS Office has emerged as a strong partner to local leaders throughout America — and a positive force for change and progress at the…
