CLIFTON — Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr. and U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez joined local police and officials outside City Hall Monday to call on lawmakers to fund a program that would allow police departments to hire more officers.

From left, Capt. Thomas Surowiec and Chief Gary Giardina stand next to Rep. Bill Pascrell and Sen. Robert Menendez during a press conference Monday.

Pascrell and Menendez, both Democrats, urged House and Senate members to include $200 million for the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Hiring Program when finalizing the Justice Department’s spending bill. Federal lawmakers are expected to finish and vote on the bill this week, before sending it to President Obama to sign.

The COPS Hiring Program is critical at a time when retirements and layoffs have depleted local police departments, Pascrell said. “I firmly believe that fewer cops on the beat mean more crime on the streets,” he said.

Menendez said the program would help improve public safety in municipalities that have cut police officers because of budget constraints. Police also are needed to serve as first responders to acts of terrorism, he said.

“We call them heroes, but turn our back on them when they need us,” he said.

New Jersey has lost 4,000 police officers in the past two years because of retirements and layoffs, officials said. State pension reform has prompted a large number of police officers to retire sooner than planned.

In Clifton, the police department has 128 officers – 30 fewer than last year -- mostly because of retirements, said Police Chief Gary Giardina. The city cannot replace them right away because officials still must fund payouts for retiring police, including vacation time and sick leave, he said. The COPS Hiring Program wouldn’t stem retirements, but it would provide funding so vacant positions can be filled sooner, he said.

The COPS Hiring grants are “one of the few things we can look forward to help us,” Giardina said.

Pascrell said some police departments have reported having to eliminate or reduce response to non-emergencies, including motor vehicle thefts, burglar alarms and property crimes, because of a lack of officers. Other departments have reduced the size of anti-gang and narcotic teams, he said.

In Clifton, Giardina believes the reduction in officers is the reason that crime rose between 5 and 6 percent this year, with the biggest increases in rape (7 percent), arson (34 percent), and motor vehicle theft (42 percent). He also said response time was up for non-emergencies.

“I ask for patience because of response time,” Giardina said. “We can’t answer certain calls the way we did because of lack of manpower.”

Funding for the COPS Hiring Program was approved by the Senate in a spending bill earlier this year. The House of Representatives cut the program in its version of the spending bill. Lawmakers are trying this week to reach a resolution in a final version.

 Since its inception in 1994, the COPS Hiring Program has provided funding to hire 123,800 officers across the country.

But need far exceeds the supply of grant money, officials said. Statewide, 150 communities in New Jersey this year applied for grants; just 12 were awarded funds for the hiring of 78 officers. No municipalities in Bergen or Passaic counties were among them.