Chief Larry James of the University of Central Arkansas Police Department is heading to Washington, D.C., on March 2-3 to meet with members of the Arkansas congressional delegation to discuss critical issues related to federal funding for state, tribal and local law enforcement agencies.
Chief James, who will be representing the Arkansas Association of Chiefs of Police, will be joining with law enforcement officials from around the nation, as part of a law enforcement ?Day on the Hill?, organized by the International Association of Chiefs of Police.
The meeting of police chiefs in Washington comes at a critical time for the law enforcement community. According to an IACP analysis of the proposed budget for FY 2005, law enforcement assistance programs at the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security face cuts of more $1.5 billion, which represents a 30 percent decrease from current levels.
According to James, ?Arkansas police chiefs are concerned that targeting law enforcement assistance programs for reductions of this magnitude has the potential to significantly weaken the ability of state and local law enforcement agencies to protect our communities from both traditional acts of crime and the new specter of terrorism. We want our congressional delegation to understand how critical these assistance monies are to so many of the communities in Arkansas.?
Specifically, the proposed budget calls for significant reductions in programs such as the Local Law Enforcement Block Grant Program, the Edward Byrne Memorial Grant Program, the Community Oriented Policing Services Program and the State Homeland Security Grant Program.
While in Washington, Chief James will also be participating in a Capitol Hill Press Conference where a comprehensive analysis of the proposed budget and its potential impact on the law enforcement community will be released.
The IACP is the world?s oldest and largest non-profit association of police executives. Established in 1893, the IACP has over 19,000 members in 89 countries.
