Police

Remarks as prepared for delivery.

DENVER, COLO. ~ Monday, October 5, 2009 -- Thank you, Chief Laine, for that kind introduction.

Chief Whitman, thank you for hosting the IACP in your home city.

And IACP Executive Director Dan Rosenblatt, thank you for your strong leadership of this outstanding organization.

Officers and Members of the Board of Directors, friends, and colleagues. It is my great pleasure to be able to join you today for the first time as Attorney General.    » read more »

Gov. Nixon signs bill creating new fund to benefit families of emergency personnel killed in the line of duty

June 19, 2009 -- KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Standing inside a Kansas City fire station, Missouri Governor Jay Nixon today signed a bill to benefit the families of Missouri emergency personnel killed in the line of duty. House Bill 580, which establishes the Line of Duty Compensation Act, allows a claim to be filed with the Division of Workers' Compensation on behalf of a law enforcement officer, firefighter, emergency medical technician, air ambulance pilot or air ambulance registered nurse for a benefit of $25,000.    » read more »

05/29/2009 -- Building on his commitment to combat gang violence and protect public safety, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger today joined law enforcement officials in Salinas to highlight California’s Gang Reduction, Intervention and Prevention (CalGRIP) funding and to announce the first-ever “Gifts for Guns” program in the area, modeled after the program created by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.    » read more »

May 22, 2009 -- BATON ROUGE – Today, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal announced that 150 Louisiana Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Criminal Justice (LCLE) grants totaling over $20 million have been awarded to municipalities as well as law enforcement programs and agencies throughout the state. Governor Jindal said the grants will be used to enhance Louisiana’s criminal justice system and promote public safety.

Governor Jindal said, “We’re committed to providing our law enforcement officers and public safety agencies with the resources they need to keep our families safe. These grants will help ensure that our entire criminal justice system has the capacity to keep our citizens protected.”    » read more »

May 21, 2009 -- To increase public safety and aid law enforcement, Kansas Governor Mark Parkinson today signed the Omnibus Crime Bill.

“Safe communities are one of the reasons that businesses and families move to our state,” Parkinson said. “I appreciate the work the Legislature and the Attorney General did this session to keep Kansans safe and secure.”

“To better protect our families, we must give law enforcement the tools they need to fight crime and bring predators to justice,” Attorney General Steve Six said. “This legislation contains a number of provisions that will help law enforcement keep our communities safe. I was pleased to be the main proponent of the provision which closed the loophole for criminals that would flee & elude law enforcement officers.”    » read more »

Funds made available through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act which passed earlier this year

May 18, 2009 -- WASHINGTON — U.S. Senators Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) and Carl Levin (D-MI) announced today that Michigan will receive $4,795,000 in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funding through the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The funding will help finance public safety services in rural communities protect.

“This investment will help ensure that families living in rural communities have access to law enforcement, health care, and other essential services,” said Stabenow. “I am pleased that this recovery funding will help keep our rural communities safe, and will help create good-paying jobs at the same time.”    » read more »

05/15/2009 -- California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger today sent the following letter to United States Attorney General Eric Holder, urging the expedited release of Community Oriented Policing Services Hiring Recovery Program funds available through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

These funds will go toward salary expenses for law enforcement officers - officers who are receiving pink slips from their city and county employers due to the global economic crisis.

Full text of the letter:

May 15, 2009

The Honorable Eric Holder
Attorney General of the United States
U. S. Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20530

Dear Mr. Attorney General,    » read more »

May 11, 2009 -- The FBI today released preliminary statistics indicating that 41 of our nation’s law enforcement officers were feloniously killed in the line of duty in 2008. By region, 20 of the victim officers were killed in the South, nine in the Midwest, nine in the West, and three in the Northeast. The number of officers feloniously killed was 17 fewer than in 2007.    » read more »

May 6, 2009 -- Colorado Governor Bill Ritter Jr. said today that the Department of Public Safety received a record-high number of nearly 200 applications for $16.4 million in public-safety funding from the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act, the landmark federal law that is designed to energize the economy, create jobs and invest in communities and infrastructure.

Gov. Ritter said he was heartened to see such tremendous interest from law enforcement agencies around the state for these funds.

"The Recovery Act will help our law enforcement agencies expand their efforts to crack down on drugs and protect our communities, said Gov. Ritter. "These funds will keep police officers on the street and help grow the economy and stabilize neighborhoods."    » read more »

April 17, 2009 -- DES MOINES – Iowa Governor Chet Culver signed legislation today to help family members of police and fire fighters who die in the line-of-duty receive benefits.

“Every day, police officers and fire fighters across the state put the lives on the line in order to keep each one of us and our families safe,” said Governor Culver. “If they make the ultimate sacrifice for us, the least we can do is make it easier for their families to receive benefits.”    » read more »

March 18, 2009 -- Connecticut Governor M. Jodi Rell today announced that she has written to local police chiefs, mayors and first selectmen to inform them that federal stimulus money is now available to hire new police officers or bring back laid-off officers.

The Governor said approximately $1 billion is available nationally and law enforcement agencies must apply for the competitive grants, which are part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. In her letter, the Governor urged local police departments to apply for the grants as soon as possible.    » read more »

March 16, 2009 -- WASHINGTON – U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder announced today that the Department of Justice is now accepting applications for $1 billion in Recovery Act Funds for the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Program. Approximately 5,500 law enforcement officer jobs will be created or saved in law enforcement agencies across the country through funding provided by the Department of Justice.

"This investment of Recovery Act funds will pump new resources into our communities through a program with a proven track record," said U.S. Attorney General Holder. "We will not just create and preserve jobs, but also increase community policing capacity and crime-prevention efforts."    » read more »

March 6, 2009 -- Today President Barack Obama announced that Attorney General Eric Holder and the Department of Justice are making available $2 billion Recovery Act 2009 funding allocations for state and local law enforcement and criminal justice assistance, available through the Edward Byrne Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Program.

This funding will be used to help communities keep their neighborhoods safer with more cops, prosecutors, and probation officers; more radios and equipment; more help for crime victims and more crime prevention programs for youth.    » read more »

Department Receives additional Funding for National Security, Combating Financial Fraud, Hiring More Police Officers, Civil Rights Division, Prison Operations

February 26, 2009 -- WASHINGTON – The President released the Administration’s FY 2010 top-line budget proposal today which includes $26.5 billion for the Department of Justice (DOJ), a 3.5 percent increase more than the FY 2009 budget. The Department’s budget includes enhanced funding for: national security and intelligence; combating financial fraud; hiring additional police officers; civil rights enforcement; securing our nation’s borders; and for federal detention and incarceration programs.    » read more »

June 9, 2008 -- Connecticut Governor M. Jodi Rell today signed into law two bills designed to help keep Connecticut communities safer and to protect the first responders – police officers, firefighters and emergency medical technicians – who accept that difficult and often dangerous job.    » read more »