George Bush Has Turned His Back On Cops:
George Bush Guts Funding for Police Officers. The Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) program has helped fund more than 100,000 police officers and contributed to one of the largest declines in crime in our nation’s history. Yet President Bush has sought to cut the COPS program in every one of his budgets. His current budget slashes the COPS program for 2005, providing only $97 million, a $646 million (87 percent) cut below the 2004 enacted level. Over the long term, his budget assumes the elimination of COPS hiring programs and technology and safe schools initiatives. [House Budget Committee Democratic Caucus, 2/19/04]
George Bush Says He Supports Extension of Assault Weapons Ban, But Fails to Move It. The White House says that on assault weapons, President Bush “supports the current law, and he supports reauthorization of the current law.” Yet the White House has done nothing to move an extension. President Bush actually opposed efforts to include an extension of the assault weapons ban as part of a bill he strongly supported to protect gun manufacturers from liability. The Bush Administration said: “The Administration urges the Senate to pass a clean bill, in order to ensure enactment of the legislation this year. Any amendment that would delay enactment of the bill beyond this year is unacceptable.” [Knight-Ridder, 4/12/03; Statement of Administrative Policy, 2/24/04; The Hill, 5/12/04]
Without Help From George Bush, War and State Budgets Have Forced Layoffs in Police Departments. While police departments have faced new burdens because of the war on terror, states and cities have had less money to address those burdens because of more than $200 billion in state deficits over the last three years. Without real help from President Bush, cities across America laid off cops. The situation has been made worse by the war on Iraq, which has “required the call-up of huge numbers of reserves, many of whom are cops.” [Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, 2/04; USA Today, 12/2/03; Washington Monthly, 9/03]
The Bush Administration Has Failed to Adequately Share Domestic Intelligence Information with Local Police Departments. The FBI and other intelligence agencies have been widely criticized for failing to share information with local police departments who police American cities. A GAO report found, “no level of government perceived the process as effective,” and only 13 percent of federal officials and 35 percent of state officials believed that the current level of intelligence sharing between federal, state, and local officials was adequate and effective. “Despite repeated FBI assurances that cops are equal partners in the war against terrorism, local cops say they frequently feel like second-class citizens.” [GAO, 8/27/03; Washington Monthly, 9/03]
Bush Proposed Cutting Overtime Pay for Cops. In both the original proposed overtime pay rules and the revised set of rules, the Bush Administration has threatened the overtime pay of thousands of police officers. Under the original Bush plan, “A police officer who walks a beat (manual work) may not lose overtime protection, but a police sergeant who spends significant time supervising two or three other officers will lose overtime protection.” Revised rules did not clarify the problem. [Economic Policy Institute, 7/26/03, 5/4/04]
John Kerry Will Stand by America’s Police Officers:
Support Police Officers in the Battles Against Crime and Terror. Police departments have faced historic burdens since 9/11, including added overtime work and needs for new training and new communications and safety equipment. While George Bush has failed to support these departments, John Kerry will provide $25 billion in immediate fiscal relief to states and communities—money that states and localities will be able to use to give the tools they need to keep our streets safe and protect against terror. In addition, John Kerry will continue the COPS program which he helped create.
Share Intelligence to Protect America Against Terror. John Kerry believes that appropriate state and local authorities should get access to the 58 national terrorist lists and intelligence officials should work to simplify these lists. In addition, a 24-hour operations center should be established in each state to provide a real time intergovernmental link between local and federal law enforcement. Field-level police would contact this center to determine whether to hold or release suspects based on a check of federal databases.
Continue the Assault Weapons Ban. John Kerry believes we can protect the right to bear arms and at the same time keep guns out of the hands of criminals. He stands with law enforcement officers, who put their lives on the line every day, in seeking to ensure that these officers are not outgunned by criminals armed with these weapons of war. John Kerry will renew the assault weapons ban, a measure President Bush claims to support, and will close the gun show loophole.
Support Neighborhood Prosecutor Programs. John Kerry will support police officers and reduce crime by brining prosecutors into high-crime neighborhoods. Kerry’s neighborhood prosecutor program will support states that assign prosecutors to specific communities where they work closely with police officers and residents to combat crimes like drug activity, noise violations, and vandalism. The prosecutors’ offices will be located in the neighborhoods where they are assigned, and prosecutors will regularly attend community meetings to solicit input.
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