Community Policing to Combat Domestic Violence

In 1996, the Community Policing to Combat Domestic Violence initiative was created to provide federal assistance to law enforcement agencies to encourage and strengthen an innovative, progressive focus on domestic violence. In addition to providing funding for officer salaries and computer technology, this program provided funding for local shelters, counseling and medical centers, and advocacy organizations. Applicant agencies were required to develop a detailed Memorandum of Understanding with a local, nonprofit, nongovernmental community service organization to form a working, equal partnership to address the problem of domestic violence in their community.

The program awarded nearly $47 million to 336 agencies. Sixty-five grantees focused on training initiatives to combat domestic violence; 238 focused on the problem-solving model as a way to address domestic violence; and 33 concentrated on implementing organizational change effectively within both a law enforcement department and a nonprofit, community-based organization.

In 1998 and 1999, nearly $25 million in additional funding was offered to targeted sites through the Community Policing to Combat Domestic Violence initiative.

1998 funding included the following:

• $2.5 million was awarded to 16 sites in Washington State to continue domestic violence-related efforts begun under the 1996 initiative.
• $6.3 million was awarded to 15 law enforcement agency test sites to help develop comprehensive, coordinated, innovative techniques to reduce domestic violence. Projects focused on training, implementation of a full-faith-and-credit policy, investigation units, rural and tribal communities, stalking, and underserved populations.
• $2.5 million was awarded to 25 Regional Community Policing Institutes (RCPIs) throughout the country for training purposes.
• $1.2 million was awarded to fund four research and evaluation initiatives designed to measure and evaluate community policing responses to domestic violence.

1999 funding included the following:

• $1 million was transferred to the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC) to fund the development of nine community policing/domestic violence training modules.
• Additional funding was provided to the 25 RCPIs to deliver the FLETC training to communities in their regions.
• The efforts of the 15 test sites funded in 1998 were refined through a training and technical assistance workshop developed in conjunction with Office of Justice Programs (OJP) Violence Against Women Office and the Battered Women's Justice Project.