Valley gets few COPS grants
EDINBURG — Hidalgo County Sheriff Lupe Treviño had planned on a banquet Thursday evening for the 20 new academy graduates to be hired as deputies and paid with federal stimulus dollars.
The banquet went on as planned. But for now, those deputies will have to work as volunteers.
The sheriff’s office alongside practically every local law enforcement agency in the Rio Grande Valley applied for federal stimulus help as part of the Community Oriented Policing Services program.
"You can put a jinx on that deal," Treviño said. "I’m real upset about it."
There were 416 agencies in Texas that applied for funding. Just 31 received funds, including five in the Rio Grande Valley.
The U.S. Justice Department allocated the funds based on a percentage index that placed equal weight on a department’s fiscal need and its amount of index crimes.
Police in Harlingen, Weslaco, Alamo, Roma and the Donna school district received funds to hire more officers. Each of those departments showed relatively high crime rates and financial need.
The COPS grant pays for a new officer’s salary for the first three years. By the fourth year, the local department must have made budget changes to pay for the officer. Just 1,046 of the more than 7,000 agencies that applied for the grant nationwide received a piece of the $1 billion in funding.
Alamo police had applied for five officers, but received funds for only one new patrol officer, records show.
"Anything helps," Chief Arturo Espinoza said. "With the economy the way it is now, cities are hurting."
The San Juan Police Department requested 10 officers, but its ranking on the list fell just short the agencies that receive funding across Texas. The index showed the department demonstrated a high crime rate, but a low financial need.
Naturally, San Juan Police Chief Juan Gonzalez said he was disappointed with the result.
"We need support and we need more officers on the ground," he said. "Financially, some cities cannot budget for officers. That’s why we depend on grants."
Gonzalez said is working with the San Juan City Commission to put together the funds to hire five new officers.
McAllen police Chief Victor Rodriguez said one positive aspect about his and other departments not receiving federal funds is the crime rate is relatively low and funding remains relatively strong.
"We have been arguing that we are not in a lawless part of the country," he said.
And Sheriff Treviño said he would continue to lobby the Justice Department to provide more grants to his agency and others in the Valley. All departments that did not receive the grant will be considered in the future, should more stimulus dollars be allocated to the program.
"I’m not giving up on this," the sheriff said.
Valley COPS awards:
Harlingen: 6 officers, $924,834
Weslaco: 3 officers, $451,206
Alamo: 1 officer, $131,059
Roma: 1 officer, $114,733
Donna schools: 1 officer, $114,486
Agencies cut out: San Juan, Pharr, Mission, Edinburg, Brownsville, Palmhurst, Penitas, McAllen, Sullivan City, Hidalgo, Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office, Alton, Palmview, La Joya school district, University of Texas at Brownsville, Escobares
Full list of agency rankings: http://www.cops.usdoj.gov/pdf/Applicant_Rankings2.pdf
