Justice Department Grant Will Help Olathe Hire Police

KANSAS CITY, KAN. – A $500,000 grant from the justice Department will pay for four police officer positions in Olathe, U.S. Attorney Tom Beall said today.

The money comes from the COPS Hiring Program Awards announced Monday by the Justice Department’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services. The propose of the program is provide funds to state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies to support hiring additional career law enforcement officers to address specific crime problems through community policing strategies.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions Monday announced a total of $98.4 million in COPS grants nationwide.

“Cities and states that cooperate with federal law enforcement make all of us safer by helping remove dangerous criminals from our communities,” Sessions said.

The complete list of award recipients can be found at https://www.cops.usdoj.gov/pdf/2017AwardDocs/chp/Award_List.pdf

The COPS Office awards grants to hire community policing officers, develop and test innovative policing strategies, and provide training and technical assistance to community members, local government leaders, and all levels of law enforcement. Since 1994, the COPS Office has invested more than $14 billion to help advance community policing.