Office of Community Oriented Policing Services
Grants to the
City of Elizabeth, New Jersey Police Department
GR-70-01-003
March 23, 2001
Office of the Inspector General
The Office of the Inspector General, Audit Division, has completed an audit of grants awarded by the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) to the City of Elizabeth, New Jersey Police Department (Elizabeth). The purpose of the grants is to enhance community policing. Elizabeth was awarded a total of $3,277,815 to hire 38 new police officers and redeploy the equivalent of 8 existing full-time officers from administrative duties to community policing.
We reviewed Elizabeth's compliance with eight essential grant conditions. Elizabeth complied with two grant conditions, including hiring of officers and planning for retention. We found weaknesses in six other areas as identified below. As a result, we question $871,882. 1
These items are discussed in greater detail in the Findings and Recommendations section of the report. Our audit objectives, scope, and methodology appear in Appendix I.