Valley’s policing initiatives can benefit from stimulus

A month ago, we decried the absence of federal funding for law enforcement programs, such as the Community Policing Oriented Services, that were so effective in helping communities like Youngstown fight crime. We urged President Barack Obama, a Democrat, and the Democratic controlled Congress to reverse the decisions made by former President George W. Bush, a Republican, that undermined local policing efforts.

With little fanfare, the president and Congress have done just that. In the $787 billion stimulus package approved by Congressional Democrats — there were no Republican votes in the House and just three in the Senate — and signed into law by Obama, $3.7 billion is earmarked for police programs. Of that amount, $1 billion is set aside to hire local police under the COPS program. It is noteworthy that President Bush slashed $1 billion from programs that support law enforcement as part of a plan to consolidate 70 state and local law enforcement assistance programs into four grant entities.

In so doing, Bush all but eliminated COPS and the Bryne Justice Assistance Grant, which funded drug task forces, prisoner rehabilitation and after-school programs.

In the stimulus package, the Bryne Justice Assistance Grant is allocated $2 billion.

Other highlights as they relate to law enforcement: $225 million for general justice grants for things such as youth mentoring programs; $125 million for police in rural areas; $100 million for victims of crimes; $50 million to fight Internet crimes against children; $225 million for Indian tribal law enforcement; and, $40 million for grants for law enforcement along the Mexican border.

Make a grab for it

The bottom line: There is money to be had from Washington — but the onus is on local communities to make a grab for it.

In the January editorial, we noted that the two largest cities in the Mahoning Valley, Youngstown and Warren, have experienced some success in reducing crime — even in the face of shrinking budgets and manpower cuts. But, with the national economy in a tailspin, that record of success will be difficult to replicate this year.

Indeed, Warren has already been forced to come to terms with its budget crunch; it has laid off 21 police officers. In Youngstown, the city was able to end last fiscal year with a small surplus by implementing an employee buyout program. But the $500,000 carryover won’t be enough to offset the expected red ink.

Mahoning County government is also experiencing budgetary turmoil. As today’s other editorial points out, dwindling revenue has forced cuts in the sheriff’s department and juvenile court.

But the stimulus package’s funding for law enforcement programs gives the Valley the chance to blunt the impact of budget crises.

To be sure, just about every community in the country will be making a grab for the $3.7 billion, and while it is impossible to make the allocation process apolitical, the bottom line is simply this: The best applications usually get funded.

President Obama has promised transparency in how the stimulus money is spent.

We should make it so the administration would be hard-pressed to say no to this region, a region that he and then vice president-elect Joe Biden visited and talked about law enforcement issues.