Justice Department Announces New Nationwide Public Safety Commitments

New Haven – On November 2, the Justice Department announced several new commitments as part of its Comprehensive Strategy for Reducing Violent Crime. Instituted by Attorney General Merrick B. Garland in May 2021, the strategy focuses on harnessing federal resources, intelligence, and expertise as a force-multiplier with state, local, and Tribal law enforcement.

Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco and Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta highlighted the more than $334 million in critical grant funding to law enforcement agencies and stakeholders awarded today by the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office).The COPS grants announced today include funding to help law enforcement agencies hire over 1,730 new law enforcement officers across the country while also providing critical funding to support school safety and continue to advance community policing nationwide.

“Law enforcement officers across the country are showing up every day to protect their communities in the face of unprecedented challenges,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “These grants, which support the hiring of more than 1700 new officers and make critical investments in school safety and crisis intervention efforts, will help provide local law enforcement agencies with the resources they need to keep their communities safe, support officers, and build public trust.”

Through this funding, U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Connecticut is pleased to announce that the Justice Department’s COPS Office has awarded more than $8.8 million to Connecticut and several of its municipalities to combat violent crime and maintain public safety.  Included in the grant awards are:

• COPS Hiring Program (CHP) Awards of $3,161,790 to the Hartford Police Department to hire 10 police officers, and $500,000 to the North Branford Police Department to hire four police officers;
• An Anti-Heroin Task Force (AHTF) Program Award of $3,882,182 to Connecticut’s Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection;
• A COPS Office School Violence Prevention Program (SVPP) Award of $500,000 to the New Hartford school system;
• And Community Policing Development (CPD) Program Awards of $153,806 to Colchester, $160,000 to Deep River, $190,000 to Fairfield, $126,660 to Norwalk, $28,615 to Vernon, and $174,342 to the Connecticut State Police.

“We are pleased that communities across Connecticut will benefit from these substantial Justice Department grant awards,” said U.S. Attorney Vanessa Roberts Avery.  “These funds will help fight violent crime, curb the illegal distribution of dangerous narcotics, improve policing, and keep our children safe.”

The Department has also named the five new cities to join the more than 50 jurisdictions currently part of the Office of Justice Program’s (OJP) Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) National Public Safety Partnership (PSP), which has a proven track record of helping partner sites reduce crime, improve homicide clearance rates, and enhance the quality of life for community members. The 2024 PSP sites are: Knoxville, Tennessee; Minneapolis, Minnesota; Raleigh, North Carolina; San Antonio, Texas; and Vallejo, California.

Lastly, the Deputy Attorney General and Associate Attorney General announced that this December 11-13, in Indianapolis, the Justice Department’s will bring together 1,500 local and federal partners from across the country, including representatives from the more than 50 PSP jurisdictions and from Project Safe Neighborhoods for a Violent Crime Reduction Summit, to be hosted by OJP BJA.

Complete lists of all program award recipients, including funding amounts, can be found here.