The Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Program: History, Funding, and Potential Issues for Reauthorization

The Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) program is one of the primary sources of federal support for state and local law enforcement in the United States. The program is administered by the COPS Office in the Department of Justice (DOJ). The COPS program was established by the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 (P.L. 103-322). While the initial authorization created multiple grant programs under COPS, the program that provided grants to hire law enforcement officers to engage in community policing activities was the one that received the greatest attention. P.L. 103-322 authorized appropriations for the COPS program from FY1995 to FY2000. The COPS program was last reauthorized by the Violence Against Women and Department of Justice Reauthorization Act of 2005 (P.L. 109-162). This act changed the structure of the COPS program and authorized appropriations from FY2006 to FY2009. The COPS program has not been reauthorized since, though legislation to do so has been introduced in nearly every Congress since the authorization of appropriations for the program expired at the end of FY2009. Even absent reauthorization, several laws have been enacted since P.L. 109-162 that have expanded the scope of the COPS program, including, most recently, by the Recruit and Retain Act (P.L. 118-64), which allowed COPS grants to be used for programs to make it easier to hire new officers and to promote careers in law enforcement. Annual appropriations for the COPS program averaged nearly $1.5 billion from FY1995 to FY1999. Annual COPS funding largely decreased from FY2000 to FY2014, with a few exceptions. The decrease in funding during these years was partially a result of moving funding away from hiring programs, a change in the account structure for the COPS program (funding that was previously provided under the COPS account, but which was eventually transferred to other grant making organizations at DOJ, was moved to other grant-related accounts), and likely related to a ban on congressionally directed funding that started in FY2011. COPS funding increased from FY2015 to FY2024, which was the result of increasing funding for hiring programs and for existing and new nonhiring initiatives such as anti-heroin task forces, active shooter training, and grants under the Matching Grant Program for School Security. Also, from FY2022 to FY2024 appropriations for the COPS account included funding for community project funding. The decrease in COPS funding in FY2025 was the result of community funding projects being zeroed out under the Full-Year Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2025 (P.L. 119-4). Funding for community funding projects returned for FY2026, which accounts for the increase in the total COPS appropriation relative to FY2025. This report discusses issues policymakers might consider if they take up legislation to reauthorize the COPS program. It starts by providing legislative and funding histories for the COPS program. It then discusses select issues for Congress related to potential reauthorization legislation. This includes issues that are specific to the structure of the COPS program, such as the limit on the total amount a law enforcement agency can receive to hire an officer, how funding is allocated among large and small jurisdictions, and how appropriations for COPS compare to the authorization for the program. It also includes discussion of the role of the COPS program in addressing two larger issues facing law enforcement: decreases in law enforcement staffing and their potential effect on crime, and the use of force by officers and law enforcement’s relationship with communities of color.