The U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office, https://cops.usdoj.gov) is pleased to announce that it is seeking applications for funding for the COPS Office FY 2021 Community Policing Development (CPD) program. CPD funds are used to develop the capacity of law enforcement to implement community policing strategies by providing guidance on promising practices through the development and testing of innovative strategies; building knowledge about effective practices and outcomes; and supporting new, creative approaches to preventing crime and promoting safe communities.
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) recognizes the importance of law enforcement agencies’ adhering to the highest standards of police policies and operations. The community benefits when it is assured its law enforcement personnel are following best practice policies and procedures to provide efficient, effective, and fair policing. Accreditation of agencies helps to ensure accountability and transparency that can enhance confidence and trust in law enforcement among community members and communities as a whole.
Accreditation involves the process of law enforcement agencies adopting and maintaining standards focused on their operations. To obtain accreditation, a law enforcement agency must ensure that it has the appropriate policy standards as defined by the accreditation entity. The number of standards varies by accreditation entity.
The COPS Office seeks to support law enforcement agencies in seeking accreditation, with $1,500,000 set aside for small and rural law enforcement agencies for this purpose. The COPS Office also seeks to increase the capacity of existing accreditation bodies to provide services to agencies including small, rural, and tribal law enforcement and to provide accreditation services in states that currently do not have them.
Under this category, the COPS Office will fund the following:
- Addressing Gaps in State Accreditation
- Enhancing Existing Law Enforcement Accreditation Entities
- Supporting Tribal Agency Accreditation
- Supporting Law Enforcement Agencies in Seeking Accreditation
Deadline: July 21, 2021
The Addressing Gaps in State Accreditation subcategory is open to all public governmental agencies, federally recognized Indian tribes, for-profit (commercial) organizations, nonprofit organizations, institutions of higher education, community groups, and faith-based organizations. The Supporting Tribal Agency Accreditation and Enhancing Existing Law Enforcement Accreditation Entities subcategories are limited to any existing accreditation entity. The Supporting Law Enforcement Agencies in Seeking Accreditation is limited to local, state, tribal, and territorial law enforcement agencies. For-profit organizations (as well as other recipients) must forgo any profit or management fee.