From College To Cops

By Michael Kramer

More cops! Everyone wants them, and everyone believes they are too expensive. Or almost everyone.

An idea that has been kicking around for nearly a decade is at last heading for a vote in the Senate. Called the Police Corps, it could dramatically increase the number of men and women patrolling America's cities.

The Police Corps is the brainchild of Adam Walinsky, a former top aide to Robert Kennedy. Its congressional sponsors run the ideological gamut. In the House the chief proponents are liberal Democrat John Lewis of Atlanta, who views the legislation as "vital" for his fellow blacks, and conservative Republican Robert Dornan of Orange County, Calif., who insists that "there is nothing partisan here because we're talking about survival."

In a simple notion reminiscent of the Reserve Officers' Training Corps, the Police Corps would offer a swap: each year 25,000 competitively selected high school students would win federal financing for their college education (at an annual cost of approximately $10,000 a student); in exchange, they would agree to serve four years as local police officers after graduation. Fully funded, the program would set the feds back about $1.2 billion a year. Once sworn in, the four-year cops would be a bargain. The localities they serve would pay their salaries but in most cases could avoid paying their pension benefits and seniority raises down the line. Over the long term, corps members would cost far less than career officers -- perhaps a third less in union-strong cities like New York.

The Police Corps promises three other benefits. Many urban police departments have trouble attracting qualified black and Hispanic recruits. A Justice Department survey has concluded that many inner-city minority youths would be attracted to the corps's service-for-colleg e trade. Second, the infusion of college graduates would improve the overall educational level of local police forces. Finally, over time a sizable number of civilians would gain a better appreciation of police work because they would have been cops themselves.

The need for more police has never been greater, as one chilling statistic reveals: the ratio of police officers to reported felonies has reversed since the late 1940s. Then there were 3.3 cops for every violent crime reported in big cities. By 1988 there were about 3.2 reported serious crimes for each cop nationwide. In large cities the ratio is even worse -- so bad, in fact, that . many police departments lack the manpower to respond to all 911 calls. The Police Corps would put cops where they are most needed: on the street. Because rookies begin their careers on patrol, it is estimated that the number of beat pounders could increase by 40%.

Police-union opposition stymied Walinsky's idea for years, but most of that has faded away. Which leaves the Bush Administration. During his 1988 presidential campaign, candidate Bush was prepared to support the corps in a late-October speech. "But after the second debate," says a White House aide, "we were so far ahead of Dukakis that we shied away from proposing anything new."

Where is President Bush now? Some Administration officials cry poverty. Others, like drug czar William Bennett, want scarce crime-fighting dollars targeted for increased prison space and more prosecutors. "Bennett's crazy," says California State Senator Ed Davis, a former Los Angeles police chief. "The truth is we can't begin to confront violent crime unless we have more police on patrol as a deterrent. The trick is to front-load the system, to be there before the crime takes place."

The Police Corps is an idea George Bush almost stole -- and should have stolen -- in '88. If he acts fast, he can still claim partial credit.