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Washington, D.C. – Congressman Pete Visclosky today announced that four police departments in Northwest Indiana will receive a combined $3,970,892 in grants authorized by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to hire 20 new officers for a three year period. The grants will be administered by the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) through the COPS Hiring Recovery Program (CHRP).
“I always do everything I can to ensure that our local law enforcement agencies have the resources they need to keep our communities safe, but in these tough times with tight budgets, I am especially pleased to see these funds coming to Northwest Indiana,” said Visclosky. “These COPS grants will not only put more police on the streets, but also free up resources for police departments to devote to other crime-fighting efforts. They go a long way toward improving public safety and quality of life in our communities.”
Specifically, Gary will receive $2,076,514 to hire 11 officers, East Chicago will receive $1,120,105 to hire five officers, Merrillville will receive $588,090 to hire three officers, and Lake Station will receive $186,183 to hire one officer.
CHRP grants are intended to address the full-time sworn officer needs of law enforcement agencies in order to increase their community policing capacity and crime prevention efforts. They provide full funding for approved entry-level salaries and benefits for three years for newly-hired, full-time sworn officer positions, including filling existing unfunded vacancies. The grants may also be used to rehire officers who have been laid off, or are scheduled to be laid off on a future date, as a result of local budget cuts. |
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