NEWS RELEASE

Contact: David West (west@nsula.edu )
News Bureau
Northwestern State University
Natchitoches, LA 71497
(318) 357-6466

9/29/2003

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NATCHITOCHES-The Gulf States Regional Community Policing Institute has received a $700,000 grant from The U.S. Department of Justice Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS). The Gulf States Regional Community Policing Institute (GSRCPI) is located at Northwestern State University.

The grant was one of 31 awarded to Regional Community Policing Institutes and Community Policing Consortium worth $23 million. The COPS RCPIs are strategically located throughout the country to address the community policing and crime prevention training needs of law enforcement agencies and communities in all 50 states.

Funding from the grant will be used to administer training programs that enhance integrity practices and policies within law enforcement agencies, further trust and cooperation between police and citizens, and emphasize homeland security and emergency response planning. Since the RCPIs were created in 1997, 210,000 law enforcement personnel, community members, and government leaders have been trained.

"As the nation's law enforcement agencies seek more effective methods for protecting our citizens from crime and the threat of terrorism, adequate training is of vital importance. The funds will provide police and sheriffs' departments in every region of the country with access to innovative training and technical assistance resources that have been developed to address the specific challenges of that region," said U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft.

The GSRCPI has added staff members to better serve the states of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.

"We are working on a number of exciting projects with several state, local and federal partners. We will be offering several new courses in the coming year," said GSRCPI Executive Director Daphne Levenson. "Law enforcement agencies have learned about the services we are able to provide and now the phone rings continually with requests for more training. Our plan is to continue working with agencies and communities to help them better deal with the challenges they face."

Over the past year, the Gulf States Regional Community Policing Institute began teaching a popular course on Arabic culture and names which has been distributed nationally from NSU via distance learning. The institute plans more classes related to homeland security.

"9-11 and other recent events have taught America that we can be more effective fighting crime and preventing terrorism when law enforcement and other sectors are prepared to work together to ensure our collective safety," said COPS Director Carl R. Peed. "The Regional Community Policing Institutes and the Community Policing Consortium are excellent resources for training that emphasize collaborative partnerships and mutual trust between police and the public."

Levenson said GSRCPI is also planning to begin working on a faith-based initiative, "Clergy on Patrol." Under the initiative, law enforcement agencies will begin working with clergymen in their community in an effort to decrease crime.

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