Birmingham, AL — Today, U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell (AL-07) announced over $800,000 in federal grant funding for the cities of Fairfield and Greensboro through the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Office of Community-Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office) COPS Hiring Program (CHP). The awards will allow local agencies to hire additional full-time law enforcement professionals and support critical community oriented community policing programs that reduce crime and keep our communities safe.

“This is fantastic news for the cities of Fairfield and Greensboro!” said Rep. Sewell. “This critical grant funding will help keep these cities safe by ensuring that local law enforcement agencies have the resources they need to implement community oriented policing and build trust among the members of our community.” 

COPS grant funding totaling $803,179 was awarded to the two cities in the following amounts:

• City of Fairfield - $241,136
• City of Greensboro - $562,043

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, thereby increasing their community policing capacity and crime prevention efforts. The complete list of awards can be found here. 

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 135,000 officers. CHP, COPS’ flagship program, continues to be in demand today: In FY21, COPS received 590 applications requesting nearly 3,000 law enforcement positions. For FY22, President Biden has requested $537 million for CHP, an increase of $300 million.

“We are committed to providing police departments with the resources needed to help ensure community safety and build community trust,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “The grants we are announcing today will enable law enforcement agencies across the country to hire more than 1,000 additional officers to support vitally important community oriented policing programs.”

To learn more about CHP, click here. For additional information about the COPS Office, click here.  

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.