FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, September 17, 2024
Justice Department Awards Over $600M to Hire Law Enforcement Officers, Keep Schools Safe, and Improve Law Enforcement Mental Health and Wellness Services
WASHINGTON – The Justice Department's Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office) today announced that it has awarded over $600 million in grant funding to law enforcement agencies and stakeholders across the country. This funding will go to support a wide range of efforts, from hiring new law enforcement officers and keeping our schools safe, to expanding programs that support law enforcement mental health and wellness services and combating the distribution and trafficking of illicit drugs.
The funding was announced as part of the Justice Department's celebration of the 30th anniversary of the COPS Office, commemorating 30 years since the passage of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act. Since that time, the COPS Office has advanced community policing across the country by providing a variety of resources, including grant funding, training, technical assistance, and a wide range of publications and other resources.
"Since its founding 30 years ago, the COPS Office has shown the country what it looks like to put the values of community-oriented policing into action," said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. "This coming year, the Justice Department will provide funding for 235 police departments to hire nearly 1,200 additional officers. As we celebrate this milestone and announce this funding, we recommit ourselves to the COPS Office's mission, and to the belief that everyone in this country deserves to feel safe, and to be safe, in their communities."
"For 30 years, the COPS Office has been crucial to keeping our communities safe," said Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco. "From helping communities build public safety capacity by putting more cops on the beat to helping law enforcement professionals build resilience — the COPS office has been a game changer for public safety."
"Over the past three decades, the COPS Office has provided vital resources, training, and support to law enforcement agencies across the country to help them implement community policing strategies," said Principal Deputy Associate Attorney General Benjamin C. Mizer. "That support is based on the foundational tenet that communities are safer when law enforcement and community members work in true partnership."
"As the COPS Office celebrates its 30th anniversary of working with local, state, territorial, and Tribal law enforcement agencies, these grants are another example of the tremendous support we have been able to offer the law enforcement field over the years," said Director Hugh T. Clements Jr. of the COPS Office. "These grants are one more way we work to ensure law enforcement and community members get the support they need as they continue to strive to keep their communities safe."
The funding announced today includes:
- $157 million through the COPS Hiring Program (CHP) for 235 law enforcement agencies to hire nearly 1,200 additional officers to enhance their community policing capacity;
- $73 million for the School Violence Prevention Program/Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, for school safety measures in and around K-12 schools;
- $46 million to combat the distribution and trafficking of opioids and methamphetamine through the COPS Anti-Heroin Task Force (AHTF) program and the COPS Anti-Methamphetamine Program (CAMP);
- Over $31 million for the Tribal Resources Grant Program (TRGP), with an additional $500,000 in technical assistance;
- Over $9 million for the Law Enforcement Mental Health and Wellness Act (LEMHWA) program to improve the delivery of and access to mental health and wellness services for law enforcement and support staff;
- $750,000 for the Implementation of the De-Escalation Training Act;
- $10.5 million for the Preparing for Active Shooter Situations (PASS) Program, which provides training for first responders through scenario-based, multidisciplinary training classes;
- Almost $14 million in Community Policing Development Microgrants and Law Enforcement Products and Resources;
- Over $4 million for Promoting Access to Crisis Teams, which supports the implementation of crisis intervention teams, including embedding behavioral or mental health professionals with law enforcement agencies; and
- $6.5 million for law enforcement agency accreditation, for programs that allow police departments and sheriff's agencies to obtain accreditation by independent credentialing bodies.
The COPS Office is the federal component of the Justice Department responsible for advancing community policing nationwide. The only Justice Department agency with policing in its name, the COPS Office was established in 1994 and has been the cornerstone of the nation's crime fighting strategy with grants, a variety of knowledge resource products, and training and technical assistance. Through the years, the COPS Office has become the go-to organization for law enforcement agencies across the country and continues to listen to the field and provide the resources that are needed to reduce crime and build trust between law enforcement and the communities served. The COPS Office has been appropriated more than $20 billion to advance community policing, including grants awarded to more than 13,000 state, local, territorial, and Tribal law enforcement agencies to fund the hiring and redeployment of approximately 138,000 officers.
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