In Richland and Lexington counties, federal grants dollars are
dwindling — money for deputies in public schools, counselors who
help victims of domestic violence, deputies who keep tabs on gang
activity, and chemists who run forensic labs.
It’s happening to local governments around the nation. Much of
the money has been diverted to homeland security in larger cities
and states.
“It’s hitting (law enforcement agencies) hard,” Richland County
Sheriff Leon Lott said. “We all want homeland security efforts, but
we don’t want it at the sake of these other programs. We need money
for domestic terrorists like burglars and drug dealers.”
These federal grants provide seed money so law enforcement can
start programs or hire employees such as chemists for forensic
labs.
Grants usually last about three years. When they run out, local
government begins paying for the salaries and program costs. In both
counties, council members almost always agree to pick up the
cost.
But now that the federal grant money is disappearing, law
enforcement either must persuade local government to pay for the
programs and salaries from the start or do without them.
Lott estimates his department has received about $15 million in
federal grants in the past seven years. The money has created more
than 100 jobs ranging from school resource officers to traffic
enforcement officers.
The Lexington County Sheriff’s Department has had 33
grants-funded positions in the past five years. It has used the
money to create programs, including the Criminal Intelligence Unit,
the Lake Murray Marine Patrol and the Narcotics Enforcement Team, a
mix of law enforcement agencies and two assistant prosecutors who
work on tougher cases against defendants charged with drug
offenses.
Exact figures were unavailable on how much less the two counties
are receiving.
Officials in both counties say the decrease started after Sept.
11, 2001, when the federal government began redirecting grant money
to prevent terrorist attacks like the one on the World Trade
Center.
From fiscal years 2002 to 2005, the total budget for the federal
Community Oriented Policing Services grant program decreased from
$660 million to $374 million — a 43 percent change.
COPS is a popular grant program intended to help fund the
operational costs of local law enforcement and to increase the
number of officers.
For this coming fiscal year, President Bush has asked for $118
million for COPS.
Some groups, including the Heritage Foundation, a self-described
conservative think tank that conducts research, say the cuts are a
smart move.
“The grants have been ineffective at reducing crime,” said David
Muhlhausen, senior policy analyst with Heritage Trust.
A Heritage Trust study of the COPS grant program concluded that
it had no statistically significant effect on reducing the rates of
such violent crimes as murder and rape, Muhlhausen said.
The group also says state and local governments, not the federal
government, should pay for local police officers.
That’s happening increasingly.
“Some counties and cities are raising local property taxes,” said
Dalen Harris, associate legislative director of the National
Association of Counties. “In other cases, local governments are
laying off law enforcement officers.”
So far, there hasn’t been discussion of that in Richland and
Lexington counties.
“The approach we’re taking is, since the homeland security is out
there, that we’re seeking grants that are homeland-security
oriented,” said Capt. John Allard, spokesman for the Lexington
County Sheriff’s Department.
The Richland County Sheriff’s Department is using its full-time
grant writer to find solutions.
“We’re looking for other sources for those dollars” Lott said.
“We’ll continue to do that.”
Reach Smith at (803) 771-8462 or gnsmith@thestate.com.
