[Federal Register: April 22, 2002 (Volume 67, Number 77)]
[Notices]
[Page 19586-19587]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr22ap02-70]
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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Office of Community Oriented Policing Services; FY 2002 Community
Policing Discretionary Grants
AGENCY: Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, Department of
Justice.
ACTION: Notice of Availability.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Justice Office of Community Oriented
Policing Services (COPS) announces the availability of the COPS in
Schools grant program, which will assist law enforcement agencies in
hiring new, additional School Resource Officers (SROs) to engage in
community policing in and around primary and secondary schools. This
program provides an incentive for law enforcement agencies to build
collaborative partnerships with the school community and to use
community policing efforts to combat school violence. The School
Resource Officer must devote at least 75% of his/her time to work in
and around primary and secondary schools, in addition to the time that
a law enforcement agency would have devoted in the absence of the COPS
in Schools grant.
The COPS in Schools program provides a maximum federal contribution
of up to $125,000 per officer position over the three-year grant
period, with any remaining costs to be paid with local funds. Officers
paid with COPS in Schools funding must be hired on or after the grant
award start date. In addition, all jurisdictions that apply must
demonstrate that they have primary law enforcement authority over the
school(s) identified in their application and demonstrate their
inability to implement this project without federal assistance. Funding
will begin when the new officers are hired on or after the award date
and will be paid over the course of the grant period.
DATES: There will be two application deadlines for the COPS in Schools
(CIS) program in 2002: May 17, 2002 and June 14, 2002. Applications
postmarked on or before May 17, 2002 will receive priority
consideration for Fiscal Year 2002 funding. Applications postmarked
after May 17, 2002, but on or before June 14, 2002 will receive
secondary consideration for COPS in Schools funding in Fiscal Year
2002. All applications must be postmarked on or before the second and
final June 14,
[[Page 19587]]
2002 deadline to be considered for funding. All grant awards are
subject to the availability of funding. Since funding is limited under
the COPS in Schools Program, the COPS Office encourages interested
agencies to apply early. Previous editions of the COPS in Schools
Application Kit will not be accepted.
ADDRESSES: To obtain a copy of the CIS 2002 Application Kit, please
call the U.S. Department of Justice Response Center at 1.800.421.6770
or visit the COPS Web site at http://www.cops.usdoj.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Please contact the U.S. Department of
Justice Response Center at 1.800.421.6770 or your COPS Grant Program
Specialist. Additional information on the COPS in Schools program and
the COPS Office in general is also available on the COPS Web site at:
http://www.cops.usdoj.gov.
Overview
The Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 (Public
Law 103-322) authorizes the Department of Justice to make grants to
increase deployment of law enforcement officers devoted to community
policing on the streets and rural routes in this nation. Many
communities are discovering that trained, sworn law enforcement
officers assigned to schools play an integral part in the development
and/or enhancement of a comprehensive school safety plan. The presence
of these officers provides schools with a direct link to local law
enforcement agencies. School Resource Officers (SROs) may serve in a
variety of roles including, but not limited to, that of a law
enforcement officer/safety specialist, law-related educator, and
problem solver/community liaison. These officers may teach programs
such as crime prevention, substance abuse prevention, and gang
resistance as well as monitor and assist troubled students through
mentoring programs. The School Resource Officer(s) may also identify
physical changes in the environment that may reduce crime in and around
the schools, as well as assist in developing school policies which
address criminal activity and school safety.
COPS in Schools funding must be used to hire new, additional School
Resource Officers, over and above the number of sworn officers that a
law enforcement agency would fund with state or local funds in the
absence of the grant (including other School Resources Officers). A law
enforcement agency may not reduce its state, locally-funded or Bureau
of Indian Affairs-funded level of sworn officers (including other
School Resource Officers or other sworn officers assigned to the
schools) as a result of applying for or receiving COPS in Schools grant
funding. For example, agencies currently employing one locally-funded
School Resource Officer (or any other officer assigned to the school)
that are awarded an additional School Resource Officer under the COPS
in Schools program should thereafter employ two School Resource
Officers (one locally-funded and one COPS-funded). COPS in Schools
funding may be used to rehire sworn officers previously employed by
your agency who have been laid off for financial reasons unrelated to
the availability of the COPS in Schools grant if your agency obtains
prior written approval from the COPS Office.
At the time of application, all applicants must agree to plan for
the retention of each COPS-funded COPS in Schools position awarded at
the conclusion of federal funding for at least one full local budget
cycle. The application must also include a Memorandum of Understanding
(MOU), signed by the law enforcement executive and the appropriate
school official, to document the roles and responsibilities of the
collaborative effort between the law enforcement agency and the
educational school partner(s). The application must also include a
Narrative Addendum to document that the School Resource Officer(s) will
be assigned to work in and around primary or secondary schools and
provide supporting documentation in the following areas: problem
identification and justification, community policing strategies to be
used by the officers, quality and level of commitment to the effort,
and the link to community policing.
All agencies receiving awards through the COPS in Schools program
are required to send the officer(s) deployed into the School Resource
Officer position(s) as a result of this grant, and one individual
designated as the School Representative under the grant program, to
attend one COPS in Schools Training. The COPS Office will reimburse
grantees for training, per diem, travel, and lodging costs for
attendance of required participants up to a maximum of $1,100 per
person attending. Should your agency receive a COPS in Schools grant,
your agency will receive additional training information following
notification of the grant award.
The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) reference for
this program is 16.710.
Carl R. Peed,
Director, Office of Community Oriented Policing Services.
[FR Doc. 02-9692 Filed 4-19-02; 8:45 am]
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