Department of Justice Announces $139 Million For Law Enforcement Hiring to Advance Community Policing

WASHINGTON – The Department of Justice announced more than $139 million in grant funding through the Department’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office) COPS Hiring Program (CHP).  The awards provide direct funding to 183 law enforcement agencies across the nation, allowing those agencies to hire 1,066 additional full-time law enforcement professionals. In the Central District of Illinois, Danville, Illinois was awarded funding totaling $750,000.

“We are committed to providing police departments with the resources needed to help ensure community safety and build community trust,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland.  “The grants we are announcing today will enable law enforcement agencies across the country to hire more than 1,000 additional officers to support vitally important community oriented policing programs.”

“Numerous studies show that professional community policing improves community-police relationships and reduces violent crime. Trust and the community coming forward when they witness crime is instrumental in reducing crime rates,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Doug Quivey.  “It requires officers being present in neighborhoods daily and interacting in ways large and small to make a difference. I commend Police Chief Yates and the other City of Danville officials for taking the time to submit a quality application and for being forward looking.” 

“I want to thank Attorney General Garland, Acting U.S. Attorney Quivey, and everyone at the Department of Justice who made this award possible.” said Danville Mayor Rickey Williams Jr. “While we have greatly improved public safety, we believe the COPS initiative will allow us to be more effective, especially in building even stronger relationships with our citizens and combatting domestic violence through a special initiative. The funds provided will undoubtedly be a good return on investment because the people of Danville will be safer as a result.”

“There were many people involved in the application process. From Mayor Williams, City Council, Comptroller Massey, members of the community, as well as current and former police personnel, all played a role and did their part in making the award possible.” said Chief Christopher Yates of the Danville Police Department. “I want to thank all of them as well as members of the DOJ involved and those who assisted from the COPS Office. This award will assist us with additional officers to continue the mission to better serve the community and increase public safety.”

The COPS Hiring Program is a competitive award program intended to reduce crime and advance public safety through community policing. CHP provides funds directly to law enforcement agencies to hire new or rehire additional career law enforcement officers, thereby increasing their community policing capacity and crime prevention efforts. Of the 183 agencies awarded grants today, approximately half will use the funding to focus on building legitimacy and trust between law enforcement and communities; 41 agencies will seek to address high rates of gun violence; 21 will focus on other areas of violence; and 19 will focus CHP resources on combating hate and domestic extremism or police-based response to persons in crisis. 

Since its creation in 1994, COPS has invested more than $14 billion to advance community policing, including grants awarded to more than 13,000 state, local and Tribal law enforcement agencies to fund the hiring and redeployment of more than 135,000 officers. CHP, COPS’ flagship program, continues to be in demand today: In FY21, COPS received 590 applications requesting nearly 3,000 law enforcement positions. For FY22, President Biden has requested $537.0 million for CHP, an increase of $300 million.

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.

The COPS Office is the federal component of the Department of Justice responsible for advancing community policing nationwide. The only Department of Justice 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.