The first few months of George W. Bush’s reign have been marked by significant cuts in every governmental program that has come before his desk. The trend continued last week with Bush’s proposal to reconfigure the Clinton administration’s COPS program. COPS was created as a community empowerment project with the goal of putting 100,000 new police officers on the streets by the year 2000.
Bush’s plan calls for a 17 percent cut in COPS’ budget and a redistribution of funds for the hiring of school security agents and prosecutorial aid for gun law offenders. Bush is asking for $180 million for the hiring of school officers and $255 million for more highly technological and accurate crime lab equipment.
The original COPS program has placed approximately 80,000 new officers on the streets and many proponents of the program especially program directors, have displayed regret over cuts in a program so close to its original goal.
Bush’s proposal supports his viewpoint on the role of the federal government accurately. He has repeatedly stated that education will be the major focus of his administration and the first step towards improving academic performance is ensuring the fundamental safety of all teachers, students and administrators.