FY 2022 COPS Hiring Program | O COPS 2022 171229

Opportunity Information: Apply for O COPS 2022 171229

The FY 2022 COPS Hiring Program (CHP) is a discretionary U.S. Department of Justice grant administered by the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office). Its central purpose is to strengthen community policing by directly funding law enforcement agencies so they can hire and/or rehire additional full-time, sworn, career law enforcement officers. The program is rooted in the community policing model, which emphasizes proactive problem solving and sustained partnerships with residents, community organizations, and other local stakeholders to address the conditions that contribute to crime, violence, and fear of crime. Applicants are expected to explain their community policing strategy in practical terms and justify the number of officers needed to carry it out, with the idea that staffing increases should translate into more effective engagement, prevention, and problem-oriented policing.

CHP funding is designed specifically for personnel costs tied to entry-level officer compensation. For FY 2022, awards can cover up to 75 percent of the entry-level salary and fringe benefits for each approved position over a three-year funding period, using the applicant agency's current entry-level pay rates. The program requires a minimum 25 percent local cash match (cost share) unless the agency receives an approved waiver. Importantly, the federal share is capped at $125,000 per officer for the entire three-year period (not per year), unless a local match waiver changes that requirement. If an agency pays above entry-level rates or incurs costs beyond what the grant covers, those additional expenses must be absorbed by the agency. The overall design gives agencies flexibility to recruit and onboard staff: the grant supports three years of salary costs within a five-year period of performance to allow time for recruitment, hiring processes, and academy schedules.

A major emphasis of CHP is long-term sustainability and genuine increases in community policing capacity, not temporary staffing. Agencies must retain each grant-funded position for at least 12 months after the three years of federal funding end. This means the positions should be added to the agency's budget with state and/or local funds above and beyond what would have existed without the award. The program specifically notes that simply absorbing the positions through attrition (for example, letting locally funded positions disappear and replacing them with grant-funded ones) does not meet the retention requirement. The COPS Office also maintains discretion to fund fewer positions than requested depending on available appropriations and program priorities, even for otherwise strong applications.

CHP allows agencies to apply under one or more hiring categories, each with its own documentation and compliance expectations. First, agencies may hire new officers, including filling vacancies that are no longer funded in the agency budget, as long as those positions represent an increase over the currently budgeted, funded sworn staffing level and the hires occur on or after the official award start date listed on the notice of award. Second, agencies may rehire officers who were laid off due to state, local, or Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) budget reductions, again with rehiring occurring on or after the award start date and with records kept to prove layoff and rehire dates. Third, agencies may apply to rehire officers who are scheduled for a future layoff at the time of application due to state, local, or BIA budget reductions; in that scenario, the agency must continue paying those positions with local funds until the layoff date and then can transition to CHP funding on or immediately after the scheduled layoff. For scheduled layoffs, agencies must be able to document that layoffs are driven by local economic reasons and not by the availability of CHP funds, using materials such as council minutes, budget documents, official notices, or other records that show the decision-making trail.

Once an award is made, the notice of award will specify how many positions are approved in each of the requested categories, and agencies cannot shift positions between categories without prior written approval from the COPS Office. The program also reinforces the non-supplanting rule: an agency cannot reduce its existing sworn officer budget simply to take advantage of federal funds. Any reductions in local sworn staffing budgets must be unrelated to receiving CHP money, or the agency risks violating statutory requirements. In terms of results, the COPS Office anticipates that awards will lead to stronger community partnerships, better analysis of local safety problems, management and staffing adjustments that support community policing, and a larger overall capacity to carry out community policing activities.

From a basic grant listing standpoint, this opportunity is identified as "FY 2022 COPS Hiring Program" (Funding Opportunity Number: O-COPS-2022-171229), under CFDA 16.710, with the funding activity category of Law, Justice and Legal Services. Eligible applicants include state governments, county governments, city or township governments, and federally recognized Native American tribal governments (with additional eligibility details referenced in the full notice). The opportunity was created April 14, 2022, originally closed June 9, 2022, projected about 185 awards, and listed an award ceiling of $6,250,000. The program is also framed within broader DOJ priorities that include promoting civil rights and racial equity, increasing access to justice, supporting victims and impacted individuals, strengthening community safety in the face of evolving threats, and building trust between law enforcement and the communities they serve.

• The Department of Justice, Community Oriented Policing Services in the law, justice and legal services sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "FY 2022 COPS Hiring Program" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 16.710.
• This funding opportunity was created on Apr 14, 2022.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jun 09, 2022. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $6,250,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 185 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

Apply for O COPS 2022 171229

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