PRESIDENT CLINTON ANNOUNCES NEW YORK CITY WILL RECEIVE $120 MILLION IN FEDERAL GRANTS TO FUND 1,600 NEW POLICE OFFICERS
GIULIANI SAYS NEW OFFICERS WILL BOLSTER CITY'S ANTI-DRUG INITIATIVE
At a press conference today at John F. Kennedy Airport, President Bill Clinton announced that New York City will receive $120 million in federal grant money to fund an additional 1,600 new police officers. According to Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani, the funds, which will be provided over three years, will help bolster and expand the City's comprehensive anti-drug initiatives.
President Clinton said, "More community policing is the heart of our philosophy and the basis for our progress. The everyday presence of police officers on our streets -- working with citizens, leaning hard on known criminals, and cracking down on crime and drugs -- has probably done more to bring down crime than any single factor."
"In 1994, I stood with President Clinton and urged Congress to pass the Federal Crime Bill," Mayor Giuliani said. "At the time, we said that these funds would provide local police departments across the nation with the tools and manpower needed to help lower the nation's crime rate. Four years later, here in New York, the impact of the Crime Act has been historic -- over-all crime has dropped by 44 percent, murders have plummeted by 60 percent, and New York leads the nation in crime reduction.
"Today, with the help of the President's COPS Initiative, we will be able to hire 1,600 new police officers -- a critical addition to our fight against drugs and crime. The New York City Police Department, under the leadership of Commissioner Howard Safir, has expanded the scope of our crime-fighting strategies to include a comprehensive anti-drug program," the Mayor continued. "Through this ambitious strategy -- that includes education, treatment and law enforcement -- we intend to drive drug dealers off our streets and out of New York City."
The Mayor concluded, "On behalf of the people of New York City, I would like to thank President Clinton for his continued support, and for recognizing the importance of local-federal partnership in the fight against crime and drugs."
In 1994, Mayor Giuliani and a bipartisan coalition pressed Congress to pass the 1994 Crime Bill which allowed local police departments to use federal resources to put more police officers on the street.
Over the last four years, New York City has received more than $400 million in Crime Act money. To date, these funds have allowed the New York City Police Department to:
- Hire 1,900 new police officers (not including the 1,600 new officers to be funded by today's grant);
- Hire 1,946 civilians, freeing additional police officers to patrol;
- Purchase over $60 million in technological improvements, making the Police Department more efficient;
- Pay for $12.2 million in police overtime.
- Expanded the "Drug-Free Park" program to include parks in every borough;
- Increased the residential treatment slots in the Department of Correction from 180 to 360;
- Expanded the DARE program so that 4,000 children in housing development community centers will receive anti-drug and anti-gang education;
- Increased the number of Drug Free School Zones from 40 to 100 schools;
- Created a special Hotline (1-888-374-DRUG) for citizens to report drug activity in their neighborhoods.
- Create five new drug initiatives in addition to the four presently operating;
- Increase the number of BEACON schools from 41 to 69; and
- Establish a Manhattan Drug Court for drug-abusing defendants.
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