U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner (D-Va.) and Tim Kaine (D-Va.) announced that Virginia has received $3,271,000 in U.S. Department of Justice grants to fund law enforcement jobs and expand community policing initiatives with a focus on programs designed to promote school safety.
Virginia will receive $1.9 million through the COPS Hiring Program to support five officers in Arlington County and 10 officers in the City of Newport News. These grants go directly to law enforcement agencies to hire new, or rehire, career law enforcement officers in an effort to increase community policing capacity and crime prevention efforts. The federal grants cover 75 percent of funding for entry-level salaries and benefits for three years.
In addition, two Virginia organizations were awarded a combined $1.4 million through the Community Policing Development (CPD) grant program. This includes $496,000 for campus safety initiatives advocated by the VTV Family Outreach Foundation, and $900,000 to the Virginia Community Policing Institute. CPD funds are used to advance community policing through training and technical assistance, and development of innovative community policing strategies, applied research, guidebooks, and best practices that are national in scope.
“We need to take every possible step to ensure that our kids are safe when they go to school,” said Sen. Warner. “At a time of increased challenges and limited budgets, the top priority must be strategic investments that help strengthen key law enforcement capabilities.”
“There’s no better investment than one that improves the safety of Virginia’s schools and communities,” said Sen. Kaine. “These important grants will give families across the Commonwealth greater peace of mind with more cops on the beat and an increased focus on school safety.”
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