DOJ offers $137M for Police Hiring Program

The U.S. Department of Justice is awarding grants up to $3,125,000 to communities and their law enforcement agencies to hire or re-hire law enforcement officials.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services is soliciting applications for its COPS Hiring Program. The goal of this program is to assist communities and provide funding to law enforcement agencies to hire and/or re-hire career law enforcement officers in an effort to increase community police capacity.

​This program will cover up to 75% of the approved entry-level salary and fringe benefits of each newly hired and/or re-hired, full time, sworn career law enforcement officer over the three-year (36 month) grant period. There is a maximum federal share of $125,000 per new officer position. Agencies with a service population of 1 million people or more may apply for up to 25 officer positions; agencies with a service population fewer than 1 million people may apply for up to 15 officer positions. Any agency with a sworn force fewer than or equal to 20 officers will have a request cap of one officer.
​

• Total Funding Available: $137,000,000
• Number of Awards: up to 1,500
• Maximum Award: $3,125,000
• Funding Instrument: Grant
• Cost Share: 25%
• Performance Period: 3 years  
• Estimated Due Date: July 10, 2017  

Eligibility is limited to state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies which have primary law enforcement authority are eligible. This grant can be used for the following:

• Hiring new officers, which includes filling existing officer vacancies that are no longer funded in your agency’s budget.
• Rehiring officers who have already been laid off from any jurisdiction as a result of state or local budget reductions. The rehired officers must be rehired on or after the official grant award start date.
• Rehiring officers who are currently scheduled to be laid off by your jurisdiction on a specific future date as a result of state or local budget reductions.

---