Department Of Justice Awards $1,875,00 To Nopd To Hire 15 Police Officers

U.S. Attorney Kenneth A. Polite and the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (“COPS”) today announced an award of $1,875,000 to the New Orleans Police Department.  The award will assist in recruiting and hiring 15 law enforcement positions.

“This grant of $1,875,000 to the New Orleans Police Department underscores DOJ’s commitment to ensuring public safety in our local communities,” stated U.S. Attorney Polite.  “This money is critical to reducing violent crime, not in select portions of the city, but in every New Orleans neighborhood.  As U.S. Attorney, I will continue to fight for the necessary federal resources to support our region’s law enforcement efforts.”

“The COPS Office is pleased to assist local law enforcement agencies throughout the country in addressing their most critical public safety issues,” said Ronald L. Davis, Director of the COPS Office. “Funding from this year’s program will allow many cities and counties to apply new sworn personnel to issues related to violent crime, property crime, and school safety.”

The COPS Hiring Program offers grants to state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies to hire or rehire community policing officers. The program provides salaries and benefits for officer and deputy hires for three years.

Grantees for the 2014 hiring program were selected based on their fiscal needs, local crime rates, and community policing plans.  Nearly $124 million will be awarded nationally.

The COPS Office is a federal agency responsible for advancing community policing nationwide. Since 1995, COPS has awarded over $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 approximately 125,000 officers and provide a variety of knowledge resource products including publications, training, and technical assistance.

For the entire list of grantees and additional information about the 2014 COPS Hiring Program, visit the COPS website at www.cops.usdoj.gov.