Across the United States, cities and counties continue to experience greater challenges in fully funding their law enforcement agencies. Police departments and sheriff's offices from coast to coast face cutbacks in services. One avenue that a growing number of local police departments and sheriff's offices pursue in order to maintain more constant budgets is government grants for law enforcement. There are different grant opportunities available to local law enforcement agencies, both on the federal and state level.
- Prepare a meaningful and comprehensive grant proposal. Many law enforcement agencies are vying for government grants. Keep in mind that each granting agency utilizes a different grant application form. Therefore, in advance of commencing work on creating your proposal, make certain that you obtain the full grant application packet from the agency from which you seek funding.
There are professionals who specialize in the writing of applications for government grants, including those for law enforcement-related funding. If you elect to seek this type of professional assistance, understand that professional grant writers do not agree to accept a percentage of grant proceeds for compensation. Ethical grant writers charge a set fee---either a flat fee or by the hour---for their services. - Apply for funding through the U.S. Department of Justice COPS program. COPS---Office of Community Oriented Policing Services---is one of the most active funding sources at the federal level today when it comes to grants for law enforcement.
One area in which COPS provides grant funding for local agencies is for programs designed to place more law enforcement officers on the street. COPS funding of this nature is dedicated to enhance community policing efforts, to increase the presence of law enforcement officers around a community more generally. The concept is that expanded police presence and visibility in and of itself works to decrease crime rates.
Through the COPS program other local law enforcement initiatives qualify for grant funding. The COPS program is reached at:
U.S. Department of Justice
Office of Community Oriented Policing Services
1100 Vermont Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20530
(800) 421-6770 - Seek grant funding from state agencies for local law enforcement purposes. Generally speaking, at least two different state agencies provide at least some grant funding options for law enforcement. The state attorney general's office typically oversees specific programs to provide different types of grant funding to local law enforcement agencies. Additionally, the top state criminal investigatory agency---commonly known as the state bureau of investigation---also provides grants for law enforcement.
In most states, the attorney general's office will have a staff member dedicated to assisting local law enforcement agencies in finding grant information from both that office, as well as from the state criminal investigatory agency.
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