Attorney General Eric Holder warned Monday that contracting government budgets at federal, state and local levels, are expected to lead to significant layoffs in police departments across the country.
Holder urged those attending the International Association of Chiefs of Police Annual Conference in Chicago to help restore federal funds that would assist local police departments in keeping officers on duty.
“According to a new economic outlook report that our COPS office released this week — we expect that, by the end of this year, nearly 12,000 police officers and sheriff’s deputies will have been laid off,” the Attorney General said.
COPS is the controversial program that provides assistance to local police forces seeking seek to hire additional officers.
“The findings included in this new report show that law enforcement agencies nationwide have nearly 30,000 unfilled vacancies,” Holder added.
Holder also criticized congressional plans to cut assistance to law enforcement agencies that the White House proposed in administration jobs proposals.
“That is a dangerous, drastic and unacceptable gap — one that can’t be closed without your immediate attention and assistance,” Holder said.
Holder did say, however, that last month, COPS Director Bernard Melekian announced more than $240 million in grants to over a thousand officers in 238 local police departments across the United States.
