By Joanna Putman
Police1
WASHINGTON — The United States Department of Justice has announced $334 million awarded in federal grants to help law enforcement agencies hire nearly 2,000 new officers.
A Nov. 2 news release said the money will come in the form of COPS (Office of Community Oriented Policing Services) grants. In addition to hiring new officers, the grants will go toward supporting school safety and community policing.
“For almost 30 years, the COPS Office has worked to reduce crime and increase trust between law enforcement and the community through the many different grant programs that we offer,” said Director Hugh T. Clements Jr. of the COPS Office. “The funding we are announcing today will go a long way toward advancing this very important work.”
These grant awards build on the $4.4 billion that the Justice Department has already awarded in fiscal year 2023, according to the release.
“I can’t emphasize enough how critical these grants are to urban, suburban, and rural communities across the country to address urgent public safety needs and increase police-community trust and collaboration,” said Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta.
The release also announced the five cities to be added to the National Public Safety Partnership in 2024: Knoxville, Tennessee; Minneapolis; Raleigh, North Carolina; San Antonio, Texas and Vallejo, California.
The Department of Justice will hold a Violent Crime Reduction Summit, according to the release. It will be held in Indianapolis on December 11-13.
“Success in reducing violent crime comes from our ability to work together, partnering with law enforcement and communities, building broad coalitions that recognize and address how to promote public safety,” said Assistant Attorney General Amy L. Solomon. “The Office of Justice Programs is proud to offer robust support to jurisdictions to address violent crime in critical ways.”