By Kevin Johnson, USA TODAY Twenty-six police agencies in 16 states are barred from receiving shares of $1 billion in federal stimulus money to hire more officers after misusing millions of dollars in prior aid, Justice Department documents show. The Amtrak Police Department and agencies in two New Jersey cities, Newark and Camden, are among the largest departments barred from getting new aid for ...

By JIM ABRAMS WASHINGTON (AP) — The House has approved federal funds to help local police departments hire and retain 50,000 officers over the next five years. The House vote was an endorsement for the Community Oriented Policing Services, or COPS, grant program, which struggled to survive under the Bush administration. COPS was created in 1994 by the Clinton administration, which saw it as a v...

By Gregory Smith Journal Staff Writer PROVIDENCE — For nearly a year, city officials have been planning the 66th police training academy, intent on keeping up the size of the police force as the crime rate increased. But the city’s fiscal crisis has overwhelmed that plan, and the academy has been put off indefinitely. Police Chief Dean M. Esserman is now jumping into President Obama’s $4-bi...

By JIM ABRAMS The Associated Press WASHINGTON — A community policing program that President Bill Clinton created and President George W. Bush tried to curtail is making a strong comeback under the new Democratic administration. The economic stimulus package enacted in February provided $1 billion to expand the Community Oriented Policing Services grant program, known as COPS. On Wednesday, ...

Making Federal Jobs Cool Once Again By Fred Hiatt Copyright Washington Post Monday, April 27, 2009 When I ask political appointees of either party what surprises them about government service, one answer consistently comes back: the talent and dedication of the civil servants they are working with. That’s reassuring, of course, but also sad and a bit scary. Sad because their surprise refle...