WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Department of Justice’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office) announced today that it is now accepting nominations for the 2023 L. Anthony Sutin Award for Innovative Law Enforcement and Community Partnerships. This annual award is bestowed upon a collaborative team of law enforcement and community members whose innovative partnerships have transformed public safety in their community.

The L. Anthony Sutin Award for Innovative Law Enforcement and Community Partnerships is named in memory of Tony Sutin, who served as a founder and deputy director of the COPS Office from its creation in 1994 to 1996 and was known for his commitment to service and to the community.

“True, collaborative partnerships between law enforcement and the community are at the heart of community policing,” said Hugh T. Clements, Jr., Director of the COPS Office. “When those partnerships are in place, public trust increases, which is critical for public safety. This award is an important acknowledgement of those partnerships.”

The 2023 L. Anthony Sutin Award for Innovative Law Enforcement and Community Partnerships recognizes the efforts of innovative and sustained law enforcement and community partnerships whose unique collaborations have transformed public safety in their community. Nominees are those actively engaged with the community in a multifaceted manner that has been sustained over time and has resulted in positive, observable public safety outcomes and public trust. These partnerships identify a local problem or population in special need of intervention or improvement and approach the issue in a manner that exemplifies the philosophy and practice of community-oriented policing.

The award is given to a team of two or more individuals involved in a sustained collaboration with a demonstrable impact on public safety and/or public trust. The collaboration may involve a single project or a pattern of transformative projects that improve public safety and build trust between law enforcement and communities.

The nomination window for the 2023 L. Anthony Sutin Award for Innovative Law Enforcement and Community Partnerships will remain open until August 2, 2023, at 8 p.m. (ET). Visit the L. Anthony Sutin Award for Innovative Law Enforcement and Community Partnerships webpage to learn more and to nominate a team.

The COPS Office is the federal component of the Department of Justice responsible for advancing community policing nationwide. The only Department of Justice agency with policing in its name, the COPS Office was established in 1994 and has been the cornerstone of the nation’s crime fighting strategy with grants, a variety of knowledge resource products, and training and technical assistance. Through the years, the COPS Office has become the go-to organization for law enforcement agencies across the country and continues to listen to the field and provide the resources that are needed to reduce crime and build trust between law enforcement and the communities served. The COPS Office has been appropriated more than $20 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 more than 136,000 officers.

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