[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 52 (Thursday, March 16, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14317-14318]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-6534]


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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE


Office of Community Oriented Policing Services; FY 2000 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 funds under 
the Tribal Resources Grant Program, a program designed to meet the most 
serious needs of law enforcement in Indian communities through a 
broadened, comprehensive hiring program that will offer a ``menu of 
options'' from salary and benefits for new police personnel to funding 
for law enforcement training and equipment for new and existing 
officers. This program, which complements the COPS Office's efforts to 
fund 100,000 additional community policing officers and to support 
innovative community policing, will enhance law enforcement 
infrastructures and community policing efforts in tribal communities 
which have limited resources and are affected by high rates of crime 
and violence. Applications should reflect the department's most serious 
law enforcement needs and must link these needs to the implementation 
or enhancement of community policing. In addition, a written plan to 
retain COPS-funded officer positions after federal funding has ended 
must be submitted with the grant application.
    All Federally Recognized Tribes with established police departments 
or existing police efforts are eligible to apply. Tribes that wish to 
establish police departments and meet specific criteria are eligible to 
apply. Tribes or villages may also apply as a consortium with a written 
partnership agreement that names a lead agency and describes how 
requested resources will serve the consortium's population. In 
addition, tribes that are currently served by Bureau of Indian Affairs 
(BIA) law enforcement may request funding under this grant program to 
supplement their existing police services. Tribes whose law enforcement 
services are provided by local policing agencies through a contract 
agreement are not eligible under the COPS program, but may apply to the 
COPS Universal Hiring Program for police officer positions only.

DATES: Applications will be sent to all Federally Recognized Tribes 
with existing law enforcement efforts by early March 2000. Tribes or 
villages that wish to apply as a start-up or consortium may request an 
application kit from the COPS Office. The deadline for the submission 
of applications is May 5, 2000. Applications must be postmarked by May 
5, 2000, to be eligible.

ADDRESSES: To obtain an application or for more information, call the 
U.S. Department of Justice Response Center at 1-800-421-6770. A copy of 
the application kit will be available in early March on the COPS Office 
web site at:http://www.usdoj.gov/cops.


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The U.S. Department of Justice 
Response Center, 1-800-421-6770 or your grant advisor.

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 to 
increase deployment of law enforcement officers devoted to community 
policing on the streets and rural routes in this nation. As part of the 
Clinton Administration's commitment to combat and prevent crime in 
America's Tribal communities, the Justice Department's Office of 
Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) has made funding available 
through the Tribal Resource Grant Program, a program developed to meet 
the most serious needs of law enforcement in Indian communities through 
a broadened, comprehensive hiring program that will offer a ``menu of 
options'' from salary and benefits for new police personnel to funding 
for law

[[Page 14318]]

enforcement training and equipment for new and existing officers. This 
program, which complements the COPS Office's efforts to fund 100,000 
additional community policing officers and support innovative community 
policing, will enhance law enforcement infrastructures and community 
policing efforts in these Tribal communities, many of which have 
limited resources and are affected by high rates of crime and 
violence.,
    The Tribal Resources Grant Program is part of a larger federal 
initiative which over the last three years, has resulted in the 
Department of Interior and Justice working in collaboration to improve 
law enforcement in tribal communities. A total of $91.5 million has 
been appropriated to several DOJ agencies including the FBI, the Bureau 
of Justice Assistance (BJA), the Office of Juvenile Justice and 
Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), the Corrections Program Office (CPO), 
and the COPS Office. COPS is coordinating with these agencies as well 
as with the Office of Law Enforcement Services of the Bureau of Indian 
Affairs to ensure that limited resources are not spent on duplicative 
efforts.
    The Tribal Resources Grant will provide tribal communities with the 
resources to: hire new police officers; train new and existing officers 
in community policing, grants management and computer training as well 
as basic police training at a state academy or the Indian Police 
Academy in Artesia, NM; and provide basic standard issue equipment, 
ranging from bullet-proof vests and uniforms, to firearms and portable 
radios.
    The Tribal Resources Grant Program emphasizes deployment of 
officers and resources into communities that are affected by high rates 
of crime and violence. Applicants must submit a written plan to retain 
their COPS-funded officer positions after federal funding has ended. 
This plan must be submitted to the COPS Office with the Tribal Resource 
Grant Program application.
    A total of $40,000,000 in funding will be available under the 
Tribal Resources Grant Program. The grant will cover a maximum federal 
Share of 75% of total project costs, including approved salary and 
benefits of entry-level police officers (up to a maximum of $75,000 per 
officer over three years), basic law enforcement training and 
equipment, vehicles, and technology. A local match requirement of 25% 
of the total project costs is included in this program. A waiver of the 
local match requirement may be requested but will be granted only on 
the basis of documented demonstrated fiscal hardship. Requests for 
waivers must be submitted with the application.
    Tribes whose law enforcement services are provided by local 
policing agencies through contract arrangements are not eligible under 
this COPS program. However, tribes that do not meet the eligibility 
requirements for this program may apply to the COPS Office Universal 
Hiring Program for police officer positions only.
    Receiving an award under the Tribal Resources Grant Program will 
not preclude grantees from future consideration under other COPS grant 
programs for which they are eligible.

    The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) reference for 
this program is 16,710.


    Dated: March 6, 2000.
Thomas Frazier,
Director.
[FR Doc. 00-6534 Filed 3-15-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4410-AT-M