[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 78 (Wednesday, April 23, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 20029-20030]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-9969]


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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

Office of Community Oriented Policing Services


FY 2003 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 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 their time to work in and 
around primary and secondary schools, in addition to the time that your 
agency was devoting 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 can only 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

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inability to implement this project without Federal assistance.

DATES: There will be one application deadline for the COPS in Schools 
(CIS) program in 2003: June 13, 2003. All applications must be 
postmarked on or before the final deadline date of June 13, 2003, to be 
considered for funding. All grant awards are subject to the 
availability of funding. Previous editions of the COPS in Schools 
application developed prior to March 20, 2003, will not be accepted.

ADDRESSES: To obtain a copy of the CIS 2003 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 
(Pub. L. 103-322) authorizes the Department of Justice to make grants 
to increase deployment of law enforcement officers to increase or 
enhance community policing 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 
your agency would fund with State or local funds in the absence of the 
grant (including other School Resource Officers). Your 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 a 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, but 
your agency must obtain 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 with local, state or other non-COPS funding. The application must 
also include a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), signed by the law 
enforcement executive and the appropriate school official(s), to 
document the roles and responsibilities to be undertaken by the law 
enforcement agency and the educational school partner(s) through this 
collaborative effort. 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 officers(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 $1,200 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 COPS in Schools training 
requirement must be completed prior to the end of your 36 months of 
grant funding for officer positions.

The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) reference for this 
program is 16.710.
    Dated: April 10, 2003.
Carl Peed,
Director, Office of Community Oriented Policing Services.
[FR Doc. 03-9969 Filed 4-22-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4410-AT-M