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...

By Mark Schlueb Orlando Sentinel Staff Writer April 14, 2009 Orlando is giving back $375,000 in federal grant money that would have allowed the hiring of new police officers. The reason? Because the grant would have paid only a portion of the officers’ salary and equipment costs, and the city budget is so tight there’s no money available to pick up the rest. Mayor Buddy Dyer has also n...