WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Department of Justice’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office) is pleased to announce that the Arlington Police Department (APD) is featured as its “Community Policing in Action” photo contest winner for the month of May.

The winning photo features Cpl. Damien Gary teaching a young man how to tie a necktie during a “Dress for Success” workshop hosted by the Mentoring Arlington Youth (MAY) Program. The MAY Program launched in July 2015 through a partnership with the Arlington Police Department, the City of Arlington Municipal Court, and the Arlington Independent School District. Through interactive workshops on leadership, team building, education and career development, along with community service-learning modules, the MAY Program helps to foster relationships between youth and positive adult role models. Its goal is to enhance confidence by supporting academic achievement, while increasing social and cultural awareness and promoting personal development.

To learn more about the winning photo and the APD, visit the COPS Office e-newsletter, the Community Policing Dispatch. To view the winning photo, visit the COPS Office website, Twitter, and Facebook pages. Photo courtesy of the Arlington Police Department.

The COPS Office piloted the photo contest in 2015 to highlight positive community policing efforts across the country. After receiving an overwhelming number of submissions, the COPS Office made the photo contest an annual event. The 2017 contest garnered close to 200 photos during the one-month submission period. To learn more about the “Community Policing in Action” Photo Contest, visit https://cops.usdoj.gov/photocontest.

The COPS Office is a federal agency responsible for advancing community policing nationwide. Since 1994, the COPS Office has invested more than $14 billion to advance community policing, including grants awarded to more than 13,000 state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies to fund the hiring and redeployment of approximately 129,000 officers and provide a variety of knowledge resource products including publications, training and technical assistance. For additional information about the COPS Office, please visit www.cops.usdoj.gov.