More COPS for cops.

Here are three US Department of Justice COPS grants that were bestowed to Metro Police over the past few years:

1. Assault Intervention-Risk Reduction School-Based Partnership Grant -- Police partnered with Juvenile Court, Nashville Public Schools and the Oasis Counseling Center; purpose was to gain insight into working with individuals in school who tend to assault others.
2. Perspectives on Profiling: A Police-Community Partnership -- Purpose was to develop a training initiative that disseminates research-based information about police and community perceptions of bias of the police; increases public knowledge of police behaviors during traffic stops; increases police officer’s knowledge and awareness of minority community perceptions, beliefs, and norms.
3. Two (Count them! Two!) Motor Vehicle Theft Grants -- (local cops won an award for this; reduced auto thefts by 53%) Collected data that showed that a portion of the problem with police response to auto thefts was the time lapse between when a vehicle was stolen and statistical information was available in determining crime patterns. Implemented a system to keep the staff better informed with more timely information.

With all this progress in community policing, we're bound to ask, "Who is the genius in the Bush Administration that came up with the idea of cutting community policing programs?" I guess we just can't stand success.