I am pleased to announce that the COPS Office has begun accepting applications for our 2020 grant awards, and we are excited to offer a full array of grants this year.

If you work for a state, local, tribal, or territorial law enforcement agency, or in a related field, I invite you to explore any of these funding opportunities. Since Congress established our office in 1994, we’ve awarded over $14 billion in grants, and are proud to say that this support has sponsored many innovations which have become successful and widely implemented programs and practices.

For 2020, we will fund projects in eight law enforcement topic areas, one of which is Community Policing Development (CPD). CPD awards will support the development and testing of approaches to preventing crime and promoting safe communities with a variety of projects or programs. The COPS Office also offers microgrants for projects and programs requiring smaller amounts of money.

Another area in which we are seeking applicants is efforts to support the recently passed Law Enforcement Mental Health and Wellness Act (LEMHWA). Funding will be available for training and technical assistance, demonstration projects, and the implementation of promising practices to promote the wellbeing of our law enforcement officers.

A third source of funding is the Tribal Resources Grant Program – Technical Assistance (TRGP-TA) grant program, which will support tribal law enforcement agencies through training and technical assistance efforts.

We are also seeking applications for the Preparing for Active Shooter Situations (PASS) program, which will support scenario-based training for officers and other first responders.

Agencies looking to rehire or add new officers to their staff should look into the COPS Hiring Program (CHP). And those interested in information- or intelligence-sharing should consider applying for a grant to support participation in the Regional Information Sharing System (RISS) program, which is administered by the Bureau of Justice Assistance.

Two drug enforcement awards are also available this year. The COPS Anti-Methamphetamine Program (CAMP) funds investigations of the manufacture and distribution of methamphetamine (including precursor diversion, laboratories, or methamphetamine traffickers). The Anti-Heroin Task Force (AHTF) program funds investigations of the unlawful distribution of heroin, fentanyl, carfentanil, or opioids.

Individually, each of the grants we are funding has great potential to improve public and officer safety. All together, they can have a tremendous impact on the wellbeing of millions of individuals and thousands of communities throughout our nation.

At the COPS Office, we know that there are many law enforcement agencies and organizations with critical needs and good ideas that deserve funding, and we want to help them navigate the application process. So we’ve developed User Guides which can be found on each grant program’s web page.

Applicants can also find tips on preparing a strong application in this month’s Dispatch article, How to Write a Winning Grant Proposal.

Please don’t hesitate to apply and remember to start well before the application deadlines.

– Director Keith

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