DOJ Awards Nearly $400 Million for Law Enforcement Hiring to Advance Community Policing [AZ]

PHOENIX, Ariz. – The Department of Justice today announced nearly $400 million in grant funding through the Department’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office) COPS Hiring Program (CHP). The Attorney General announced funding awards to 596 law enforcement agencies across the nation, which allows those agencies to hire 2,732 additional full-time law enforcement professionals. The awards announced today are inclusive of the $51 million announced in May as part of Operation Relentless Pursuit.

In Arizona, grants were awarded to nine law enforcement agencies around the state:

• Apache Junction Police Department, receiving $1 million to hire 8 officers;

• Camp Verde Marshal, receiving $125,000 to hire 1 officer;

• Coconino County Sheriff's Department, receiving $500,000 to hire 4 officers;

• City of Maricopa, receiving $375,000 to hire 3 officers;

• Nogales Police Department, receiving $704,122 to hire 3 officers;

• City of Peoria, receiving $375,000 to hire 3 officers;

• Pima County Sheriff's Department, receiving $1.25 million to hire 10 officers;

• Town of Sahuarita, receiving $250,000 to hire 2 officers;

• City of Winslow, receiving $250,000 to hire 2 officers.

“The Department of Justice is committed to providing the police chiefs and sheriffs of our great nation with needed resources, tools, and support. The funding announced today will bolster their ranks and contribute to expanding community policing efforts nationwide,” said Attorney General William P. Barr. “A law enforcement agency’s most valuable assets are the men and women who put their lives on the line every day in the name of protecting and serving their communities.”

The COPS Hiring Program is a competitive award program intended to reduce crime and advance public safety through community policing by providing direct funding for the hiring of career law enforcement officers. In addition to providing financial support for hiring, CHP provides funding to state, local, and tribal law enforcement to enhance local community policing strategies and tactics. In a changing economic climate, CHP funding helps law enforcement agencies maintain sufficient sworn personnel levels to promote safe communities. Funding through this program had been on hold since the spring of 2018 due to a nationwide injunction that was lifted earlier this year.

CHP applicants were required to identify a specific crime and disorder problem focus area and explain how the funding will be used to implement community policing approaches to that problem focus area. 43 percent of the awards announced today will focus on violent crime, while the remainder of the awards will focus on a variety of issues including school-based policing to fund school resource officer positions, building trust and respect, and opioid education, prevention, and intervention. The COPS Office received nearly 1,100 applications requesting more than 4,000 law enforcement positions.

A complete list of awards can be found here. To learn more about CHP, please visit https://cops.usdoj.gov/chp. For additional information about the COPS Office, please visit www.cops.usdoj.gov.

Topic(s):

Grants

Component(s):

USAO - Arizona

Press Release Number:

2020-054_Law Enforcement Funding

Looks like I’m wrong. In 2017, Trump threatened to strip federal funds from sanctuary cities, and they do lose some funding - they were screaming about it re ICE being prohibited to function/funds withheld.

But, apparently this recent funding was related to riots and perhaps he didn’t want the public to suffer for their official’s idiocy. Similar to us not wanting to pay for Obama’s sins. And, police would theoretically curtail the rioting. NOtice LA and San Francisco are not on the PDF of funded cities - that would be money down the drain I think.

Here’s supposedly a link to sanctuary cities.

https://cis.org/Map-Sanctuary-Cities-Counties-and-States

I looked it up based on your question - I saw San Jose listed on the PDF Jane Long looked up and I do believe that is a sanctuary city.

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