S. 2151, A bill to amend the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to provide that COPS grant funds may be used for local law enforcement recruits to attend schools or academies if the recruits agree to serve in precincts of law enforcement a

S. 2151 would amend the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) program to permit the Department of Justice (DOJ) to award competitive grants to local law enforcement agencies for training programs for their recruits and officers. To be eligible, recruits and officers would need to serve in a local law enforcement agency within seven miles of their residence, or within 20 miles if they live in a county with fewer than 150,000 people, for at least four of the eight-years after they complete the training program. S. 2151 would require recruits to repay the training costs if they do not meet the service requirements.

The legislation creating the COPS program, which included an authorization of appropriations totaling $8.8 billion for fiscal years 1995 to 2000, expired in 2009. The Congress has continued to provide funding for the program and appropriated $512 million for the COPS program in 2022. CBO assumes S. 2151 would effectively authorize the appropriation of whatever amounts are necessary to cover the costs of implementing the new activities specified in the legislation.

Using information from DOJ on COPS grant awards in recent years, CBO estimates that about 200 local law enforcement agencies would receive grants each year under the legislation, with an average of five recruits or officers per agency. In addition, CBO estimates that it costs roughly $20,000 to train a recruit or officer, on average. In total, CBO estimates that implementing S. 2151 would cost $71 million over the 2023-2027 period; such spending would be subject to the availability of appropriated funds.