Federal Law Enforcement Grants and Crime Rates: No Connection Except for Waste and Abuse

According to some mayors and local police chiefs, the United States is at the beginning of an epidemic of violence that will worsen if Congress does not restore one particular type of funding for local police officer salaries and related expenses that the Bush Administration and Congress have reduced over the past several years. After the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the Bush Administration decided that the Department of Justice needed to reprioritize federal resources away from subsidizing local police salaries toward bolstering homeland security and other law enforcement needs. This meant shifting funding away from wasteful and ineffective law enforcement grants, which did not address any clear national responsibility, toward strengthening the capacity of state and local governments to respond to terrorist threats.

Those who want to restore funding bolster their argument with reports that crime rates are rising. For example, the Federal Bureau of Investigation reported small increases in crime rates in 2005 com­pared to 2004.[1] Further, a preliminary FBI report suggests that crime rates increased during the first six months of 2006 compared to the first half of 2005.[2] Critics of President Bush's reprioritization also point to a recent Police Executive Research Forum study, which concluded that violent crime is on the rise.[3] This trend led a delegation of police chiefs to Washington, D.C., in late 2006 to meet with White House and U.S. Department of Justice officials[4] to lobby for increased funding for general police salaries in programs such as the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS).