FY24 COPS Hiring Program | O COPS 2024 172009

Opportunity Information: Apply for O COPS 2024 172009

The FY24 COPS Hiring Program (CHP) is a discretionary federal grant opportunity run by the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office). The COPS Office exists to strengthen and expand community policing across the country by providing both funding and practical resources to law enforcement agencies. Over time, Congress has appropriated more than $20 billion for COPS Office efforts, supporting awards to more than 13,000 agencies and helping fund the hiring or redeployment of more than 136,000 officers. Alongside grants, the COPS Office also publishes guidance and toolkits on topics tied to community policing and public safety, including school and campus safety, violent crime, officer safety, and officer wellness, which are available on its website at https://cops.usdoj.gov.

At its core, the FY24 COPS Hiring Program is designed to help law enforcement agencies hire and/or rehire additional career law enforcement officers to expand their capacity to carry out community policing and prevent crime. The program is not just about adding staffing; it is intended to strengthen how agencies work with the community and how they identify and address local public safety challenges. The solicitation describes expected results such as building and participating in planned community partnerships, using problem-solving approaches to analyze and assess persistent issues, making organizational or management changes that better support community policing, and increasing the agency's overall ability to carry out community policing activities in daily operations.

The program is grounded in the COPS Office definition of community policing as a philosophy and set of organizational strategies that rely on partnerships and problem-solving techniques. The goal is to proactively address the conditions that drive public safety concerns like violent crime, nonviolent crime, and the fear of crime, rather than focusing only on responding after incidents occur. The opportunity also emphasizes broader DOJ priorities, including promoting civil rights and equity, improving access to justice, supporting victims and others affected by the justice system, strengthening community safety against evolving threats, and building trust between law enforcement and the communities they serve. Applicants are encouraged to align their hiring plans and community policing approaches with these themes.

Eligibility is focused on government law enforcement agencies that have primary law enforcement authority, meaning they are the first responder for calls for service involving all types of criminal incidents in the jurisdiction they serve. Eligible applicant types include state governments, county governments, city or township governments, federally recognized Native American tribal governments, and certain other eligible entities as defined in the solicitation. A key requirement is that the applicant must have an operational law enforcement agency by the time the application closes (for example, a Sheriff's Office or police department), or the applicant must receive law enforcement services through a contract arrangement that is already in place by the close of the solicitation. Importantly, the applicant must maintain primary law enforcement authority for the population to be served. If the funding would support law enforcement services provided through a written contracting agreement (such as a town contracting with a neighboring sheriff's department), the jurisdiction receiving the services, not the provider agency, must be the legal applicant. The solicitation notes that an agency is considered established and operational when authorizing legislation has been passed and there is a current operating budget.

From an administrative standpoint, the opportunity is listed under Funding Opportunity Number O-COPS-2024-172009 and is associated with CFDA number 16.710 under the Law, Justice and Legal Services activity category. It is offered as a grant, with an anticipated maximum award amount (ceiling) of $6,250,000. The COPS Office projected approximately 250 awards under this solicitation. The original closing date for applications was June 6, 2024, and the opportunity was created on April 11, 2024.

• The Community Oriented Policing Services in the law, justice and legal services sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "FY24 COPS Hiring Program" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 16.710.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2024-04-11.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-06-06. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $6,250,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 250 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Others.

Apply for O COPS 2024 172009

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