[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 77 (Monday, April 22, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 19586-19587]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-9692]


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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE


Office of Community Oriented Policing Services; FY 2002 Community 
Policing Discretionary Grants

AGENCY: Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, Department of 
Justice.

ACTION: Notice of Availability.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Justice Office of Community Oriented 
Policing Services (COPS) announces the availability of the COPS in 
Schools grant program, which will assist law enforcement agencies in 
hiring new, additional School Resource Officers (SROs) to engage in 
community policing in and around primary and secondary schools. This 
program provides an incentive for law enforcement agencies to build 
collaborative partnerships with the school community and to use 
community policing efforts to combat school violence. The School 
Resource Officer must devote at least 75% of his/her time to work in 
and around primary and secondary schools, in addition to the time that 
a law enforcement agency would have devoted in the absence of the COPS 
in Schools grant.
    The COPS in Schools program provides a maximum federal contribution 
of up to $125,000 per officer position over the three-year grant 
period, with any remaining costs to be paid with local funds. Officers 
paid with COPS in Schools funding must be hired on or after the grant 
award start date. In addition, all jurisdictions that apply must 
demonstrate that they have primary law enforcement authority over the 
school(s) identified in their application and demonstrate their 
inability to implement this project without federal assistance. Funding 
will begin when the new officers are hired on or after the award date 
and will be paid over the course of the grant period.

DATES: There will be two application deadlines for the COPS in Schools 
(CIS) program in 2002: May 17, 2002 and June 14, 2002. Applications 
postmarked on or before May 17, 2002 will receive priority 
consideration for Fiscal Year 2002 funding. Applications postmarked 
after May 17, 2002, but on or before June 14, 2002 will receive 
secondary consideration for COPS in Schools funding in Fiscal Year 
2002. All applications must be postmarked on or before the second and 
final June 14,

[[Page 19587]]

2002 deadline to be considered for funding. All grant awards are 
subject to the availability of funding. Since funding is limited under 
the COPS in Schools Program, the COPS Office encourages interested 
agencies to apply early. Previous editions of the COPS in Schools 
Application Kit will not be accepted.

ADDRESSES: To obtain a copy of the CIS 2002 Application Kit, please 
call the U.S. Department of Justice Response Center at 1.800.421.6770 
or visit the COPS Web site at http://www.cops.usdoj.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Please contact the U.S. Department of 
Justice Response Center at 1.800.421.6770 or your COPS Grant Program 
Specialist. Additional information on the COPS in Schools program and 
the COPS Office in general is also available on the COPS Web site at: 
http://www.cops.usdoj.gov.

Overview

    The Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 (Public 
Law 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. Many 
communities are discovering that trained, sworn law enforcement 
officers assigned to schools play an integral part in the development 
and/or enhancement of a comprehensive school safety plan. The presence 
of these officers provides schools with a direct link to local law 
enforcement agencies. School Resource Officers (SROs) may serve in a 
variety of roles including, but not limited to, that of a law 
enforcement officer/safety specialist, law-related educator, and 
problem solver/community liaison. These officers may teach programs 
such as crime prevention, substance abuse prevention, and gang 
resistance as well as monitor and assist troubled students through 
mentoring programs. The School Resource Officer(s) may also identify 
physical changes in the environment that may reduce crime in and around 
the schools, as well as assist in developing school policies which 
address criminal activity and school safety.
    COPS in Schools funding must be used to hire new, additional School 
Resource Officers, over and above the number of sworn officers that a 
law enforcement agency would fund with state or local funds in the 
absence of the grant (including other School Resources Officers). A law 
enforcement agency may not reduce its state, locally-funded or Bureau 
of Indian Affairs-funded level of sworn officers (including other 
School Resource Officers or other sworn officers assigned to the 
schools) as a result of applying for or receiving COPS in Schools grant 
funding. For example, agencies currently employing one locally-funded 
School Resource Officer (or any other officer assigned to the school) 
that are awarded an additional School Resource Officer under the COPS 
in Schools program should thereafter employ two School Resource 
Officers (one locally-funded and one COPS-funded). COPS in Schools 
funding may be used to rehire sworn officers previously employed by 
your agency who have been laid off for financial reasons unrelated to 
the availability of the COPS in Schools grant if your agency obtains 
prior written approval from the COPS Office.
    At the time of application, all applicants must agree to plan for 
the retention of each COPS-funded COPS in Schools position awarded at 
the conclusion of federal funding for at least one full local budget 
cycle. The application must also include a Memorandum of Understanding 
(MOU), signed by the law enforcement executive and the appropriate 
school official, to document the roles and responsibilities of the 
collaborative effort between the law enforcement agency and the 
educational school partner(s). The application must also include a 
Narrative Addendum to document that the School Resource Officer(s) will 
be assigned to work in and around primary or secondary schools and 
provide supporting documentation in the following areas: problem 
identification and justification, community policing strategies to be 
used by the officers, quality and level of commitment to the effort, 
and the link to community policing.
    All agencies receiving awards through the COPS in Schools program 
are required to send the officer(s) deployed into the School Resource 
Officer position(s) as a result of this grant, and one individual 
designated as the School Representative under the grant program, to 
attend one COPS in Schools Training. The COPS Office will reimburse 
grantees for training, per diem, travel, and lodging costs for 
attendance of required participants up to a maximum of $1,100 per 
person attending. Should your agency receive a COPS in Schools grant, 
your agency will receive additional training information following 
notification of the grant award.

    The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) reference for 
this program is 16.710.

Carl R. Peed,
Director, Office of Community Oriented Policing Services.
[FR Doc. 02-9692 Filed 4-19-02; 8:45 am]
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