In California, 22 municipalities will benefit from the grants and 182 officers will either be hired or rehired in the coming weeks. The funds provide for three years of salary and benefits for the officers.
In total, the California cities will receive slightly less than $72 million.
The awards were made through the COPS Hiring Program, a competitive grant program that provides funding directly to state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies to hire police officers dedicated to addressing specific crime and disorder challenges confronting communities.
Not all cities made out evenly, however. San Jose submitted their application, requesting funding for 10 officers. However, when the grants were announced, they received grants for three.
The Cities of Sacramento and Oakland received the most grant funding to rehire officers, while the counties of Los Angeles and Sacramento received the largest grants for counties. In all four municipalities, 25 more officers will hit the streets.
“Cities across the country are dealing with numerous challenges and we are pleased to be able to assist their public safety efforts,” said COPS Director Bernard Melekian. “Creating and maintaining jobs is a key part of this program. This funding helps support local departments in their efforts to increase their ranks, enhance their relationship with the community and directly address their public safety concerns.”
The 2011 COPS Hiring Program awards will create or help preserve 1,021 sworn law enforcement positions across the U.S. The jobs created, preserved or refilled with COPS Hiring Program funds will advance community policing at the local level and contribute greatly to the quality of life of the citizens in each community.
The COPS Office is a federal agency responsible for advancing community policing nationwide. Since 1995, COPS has awarded over $13 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 120,000 officers and to provide a variety of knowledge resource products including publications, training, technical assistance, conferences, and webcasts.
For additional information about the COPS Hiring Program, and to view a list of municipalities that received grants, visit the COPS website at www.cops.usdoj.gov.