Arlington, TX: A Community Policing Story Arlington, TX - A Community Policing Story | Page 32

About the COPS Office
The Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office) is the component of
the US Department of Justice responsible for advancing the practice of community policing by
the nation’s state, local, territorial, and tribal law enforcement agencies through information
and grant resources.
Community policing begins with a commitment to building trust and mutual respect between
police and communities. It supports public safety by encouraging all stakeholders to work
together to address our nation’s crime challenges. When police and communities collaborate,
they more effectively address underlying issues, change negative behavioral patterns, and
allocate resources.
Rather than simply responding to crime, community policing focuses on preventing it through
strategic problem-solving approaches based on collaboration. The COPS Office awards grants
to hire community policing officers and support the development and testing of innovative
policing strategies. COPS Office funding also provides training and technical assistance to
community members and local government leaders, as well as all levels of law enforcement.
Since 1994, the COPS Office has invested more than $14 billion to add community policing
officers to the nation’s streets, enhance crime fighting technology, support crime prevention
initiatives, and provide training and technical assistance to help advance community policing.
Other achievements include the following:
◾ To date, the COPS Office has funded the hiring of approximately 130,000 additional officers
by more than 13,000 of the nation’s 18,000 law enforcement agencies in both small and large
jurisdictions.
◾ Nearly 700,000 law enforcement personnel, community members, and government leaders
have been trained through COPS Office–funded training organizations.
◾ To date, the COPS Office has distributed more than eight million topic-specific publications,
training curricula, white papers, and resource CDs and flash drives.
◾ The COPS Office also sponsors conferences, roundtables, and other forums focused on
issues critical to law enforcement.
COPS Office information resources, covering a wide range of community policing topics such
as school and campus safety, violent crime, and officer safety and wellness, can be downloaded
via the COPS Office’s home page, www.cops.usdoj.gov. This website is also the grant application
portal, providing access to online application forms.
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Arlington, TX: A Community Policing Story