[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 175 (Wednesday, September 10, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 47679-47680]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-23986]
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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Office of Community Oriented Policing Services FY 1998 Community
Policing Discretionary Grants
AGENCY: Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, Department of
Justice.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
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SUMMARY: The Department of Justice, Office of Community Oriented
Policing Services (``COPS'') announces the availability of grants to
hire and/or rehire additional sworn law enforcement officers to engage
in community policing. The COPS Universal Hiring Program permits
interested agencies to supplement their current sworn forces or
jurisdictions to establish a policing agency. Eligible applicants
include State, local, and Indian policing agencies, jurisdictions
seeking to establish a new policing agency and other agencies serving
specialized jurisdictions, such as transit, housing, college, school,
or natural resources.
DATES: COPS Universal Hiring Program Application Kits are currently
available. There will be two application deadlines for the Universal
Hiring Program: November 14, 1997 and January 30, 1998.
ADDRESSES: COPS Universal Hiring Program Application Kits may be
obtained by writing to COPS Universal Hiring Program, 1100 Vermont
Avenue, NW, Washington, DC, 20530, or by calling the Department of
Justice Response Center, (202) 307-1480 or 1-800-421-6770, or the full
application kit is also available on the COPS Office web site at:
http://www.usdoj.gov/cops. Completed application kits should be sent to
COPS Universal Hiring Program, COPS Office, 1100 Vermont Avenue, N.W.,
Washington, D.C. 20530.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The Department of Justice Crime Bill
Response Center, (202) 307-1480 or 1-800-421-6770.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Overview
The Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 (Pub. L.
103-322) authorizes the Department of Justice to make grants for the
hiring or rehiring of law enforcement officers to engage in community
policing. The COPS Universal Hiring Program permits interested agencies
to supplement their current sworn forces or to establish a new policing
agency, through grants for up to three years. All policing agencies, as
well as jurisdictions considering establishing new policing agencies,
are eligible to apply for this program. In addition, policing agencies
serving specialized jurisdictions, such as transit, housing, college,
school, natural resources, and others, are eligible to apply for this
program. There are two application deadlines for this program: November
14, 1997 and January 30, 1998. Departments may apply before either of
the deadlines and equal consideration will be given to all applications
submitted by the same deadline.
All applicants will be asked to provide basic community policing
and planning information for their area of jurisdiction. In addition,
new applicants serving jurisdictions of 50,000 and over, as well as all
those jurisdictions seeking to establish a department and agencies
serving specialized jurisdictions (such as transit, housing, college,
school, or natural resources), will be asked to provide additional
information relating to the applicant's community policing plan, local
community policing initiatives and strategies, local community support
for the applicant's community policing plan, and plans for retaining
the officers at the end of the grant period. In addition to the
requested community policing information, all applicants will be asked
to submit a streamlined budget summary containing information relating
to planned hiring levels, salary and fringe benefits, and decreasing
federal share requirements. The COPS Universal Hiring Program
Application offers two alternative budget worksheets which are tailored
to the number of officers requested by each applicant; applicants
requesting five or fewer officers will complete one budget worksheet
for each officer, while applicants requesting more than five officers
will complete a single budget worksheet based on the average yearly
cost per officer.
Grants will be made for up to 75 percent of the total entry-level
salary and benefits of each officer over three years, up to a maximum
of $75,000 per officer, with the remainder to be paid by state or local
funds. Waivers of the non-federal matching requirement may be requested
under this program, but will be granted only upon a showing of
extraordinary fiscal hardship. Grant funds may be used only for entry-
level
[[Page 47680]]
salaries and benefits. Funding will begin once the new officers have
been hired or on the date of the award, whichever is later, and will be
paid over the course of the grant.
In hiring new officers with a COPS Universal Hiring Program grant,
grantees must follow standard local recruitment and selection
procedures. All personnel hired under this program will be required to
be trained in community policing. In addition, all personnel hired
under this program must be in addition to, and not in lieu of, other
hiring plans of the grantees.
An award under the COPS Universal Hiring Program will not affect
the eligibility of an agency for a grant under any other COPS program.
The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance reference number for
this program is 16.710.
Dated: August 29, 1997.
Joseph E. Brann,
Director.
[FR Doc. 97-23986 Filed 9-9-97; 8:45 am]
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