$12 Million to Hire More Police Goes to Southland : Crime bill: L.A. County gets $3 million in federal funds. Compton, Santa Ana and Long Beach also benefit.

WASHINGTON —  President Clinton unwrapped the first fruits of this year’s crime bill Wednesday, passing out about $200 million to communities nationwide--including nearly $12 million to cities and counties in Southern California--to hire more police officers.

The money, distributed to local communities that applied to the Justice Department for the funds, will go to hire 2,770 police officers across the country--the first installment of what Clinton hopes will be 100,000 more police over the next six years. The country now has about 550,000 police officers, Administration officials say.

Los Angeles County received the largest single grant--$3 million, which will go to hire 33 new officers. Also among the largest early beneficiaries were: Long Beach, which will receive nearly $2 million to hire 20 more police officers; Santa Ana, with $1.7 million for 15 officers, and Compton, with $1 million for 10 officers.

In all cases, the local jurisdictions are required to pay part of the cost of the new hires and will be expected to keep them on the payroll after the two-year federal grants expire.

White House officials staged a ceremony on the South Lawn to highlight the release of the funds, which Democratic strategists hope will help restore the image of the crime bill after Republican criticism that the measure contained too much “pork.”

Administration officials emphasized that the money from the first round of anti-crime grants is going to parts of the country represented by Democrats and Republicans. White House and Justice Department officials started the day armed with printouts showing that 44% of the money was going to congressional districts represented by Republicans--including funds to towns represented by Rep. Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.), who led the Republican assault on the crime bill in the House, and Sen. Robert Dole (R-Kan.).

“It was just a month ago that we were here on the South Lawn of the White House to sign the crime bill. We came back today to show determination to implement this law without delay,” Clinton said. “This is something Washington has done to give you the power to change the future of your communities.”

After the ceremony, Clinton spent nearly an hour shaking hands with the several hundred police officers, members of Congress and Administration officials gathered on the lawn under a bright, blue sky.

Under the anti-crime package that Congress passed in August after an intensely partisan struggle, cities, towns and counties that wish to share in the $8.8 billion set aside for hiring police are required to submit plans to the Justice Department explaining how the new officers will be used in community policing projects that strengthen ties between officers and their communities. Justice Department officials determined the winners of the first round of grants by evaluating their policing plans and their violent crime and overall crime rates.

Federal Funds Among the California cities and counties receiving money for hiring police:

Locality Award Officers * Alameda $966,387 9 * Coachella 169,299 2 * Compton 1,000,000 10 * Concord 994,080 10 * Contra Costa Co. 1,646,955 18 * Corning 75,000 1 * El Cajon 694,316 8 * El Centro 513,804 6 * Fresno 1,016,625 11 * Gilroy 703,194 6 * King City 75,000 1 * La Habra 408,730 5 * Lemoore 75,000 1 * Long Beach 1,980,357 20 * Los Angeles Co. 3,000,000 33 * Merced Co. 150,000 2 * Modesto 1,479,627 18 * Monterey Park 230,927 2 * Morgan Hill 394,792 4 * Newark 290,246 3 * Ontario 374,524 4 * Paso de Robles 202,054 2 * Perris 972,435 10 * Pinole 305,914 3 * Pittsburg 356,350 4 * Riverbank 150,000 2 * Riverside 553,245 7 * Rohnert Park 311,648 3 * Rosemead 219,312 2 * Sacramento 1,985,665 23 * San Francisco 2,000,000 20 * San Leandro 492,252 5 * Santa Ana 1,733,250 15 * Santa Maria 206,262 2 * South Pasadena 209,612 2 * Stanislaus Co. 894,078 9 * Tuolumne Co. 300,000 4 * Upland 375,000 5 * Vallejo 475,204 4 * West Hollywood 635,828 7

SOURCE: Associated Press