City Manager Sheryl Long is pleased to announce the City has been awarded $6.25 million in grant funding through the Department of Justice’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office) COPS Hiring Program (CHP). The award provides direct funding to hire 50 law enforcement officers.

“This Administration continues to focus on police recruitment and retention. This money will help us bring in the best talent to protect our citizens and create a safer city for all Cincinnatians,” City Manager Sheryl Long said.

“Cincinnati has been working hard to enhance our community policing to ensure the safety of all our residents. This money not only helps us accomplish that goal, but will provide much needed jobs to our police department, assisting in their recruitment efforts,” Mayor Aftab said. “This incredible federal support will make a profound difference in our communities.”

CHP is a competitive award program intended to reduce crime and advance public safety through community policing. CHP provides funds directly to law enforcement agencies to hire new or rehire additional career law enforcement officers and deputies to enhance their community policing capacity and crime prevention efforts.

“This is remarkable news, on behalf of The Cincinnati Police Department, we wish to extend our sincerest appreciation to The Department of Justice, The Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office), and COPS Hiring Program for their commitment to the recruitment and retention of police officers throughout the country.  Understanding that the recruitment of police officers is currently a challenge for all agencies, regardless of size, having the support of The Department of Justice allows departments to be ambitious in their hiring and recruitment efforts. Here in Cincinnati, this means that the recruitment and retention of Cincinnati Police Officers will continue to be at the forefront of our department for the safety, growth, and advancement of community policing among our 52 communities,” Interim Police Chief Teresa Theetge said.

Since its creation in 1994, COPS 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 more than 136,000 officers.

 

About COPS

The COPS Office is the federal component of the Department of Justice responsible for advancing community policing nationwide. 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. For additional information about the COPS Office, please visit https://cops.usdoj.gov/.