Distressed Neighborhoods Pilot Project

The Distressed Neighborhoods Pilot (DNP) project was designed to provide additional community policing officers to poor and high-crime neighborhoods in 18 targeted cities. The selected police departments received three years of 100-percent federal funding for the awarded entry-level officers' salaries and benefits.

Each targeted site selected individual neighborhoods to focus on under the DNP. Experienced community policing officers were redeployed into those neighborhoods to develop or expand community policing efforts. Some sites spent the entire three-year grant period concentrating efforts on their originally selected neighborhoods, while others opted for mobility and rotation among their neighborhood selections. Each site redeployed their officers into a targeted neighborhood for a minimum of 6 to 12 months.

All DNP sites received assistance from multiple divisions within the COPS Office. The Grants Administration Division, responsible for administering grant funds, coordinated with the Training and Technical Assistance Division to assist sites with community policing strategies within their targeted neighborhoods. Additionally, the Program, Policy Support, and Evaluation Division oversaw a preliminary evaluation process during the early part of the program.

DNP, which was formally announced on May 29, 1998, awarded nearly $116 million to 18 targeted sites for the hiring of more than 780 new community policing officers.

COPS funded sites in Bessemer, AL; Birmingham, AL; Fresno, CA; San Bernardino, CA; Hartford, CT; Ft. Pierce, FL; Miami, FL; Chicago, IL; Monroe, LA; Baltimore, MD; Flint, MI; Muskegon, MI; Greenville, MS; Camden, NJ; Buffalo, NY; Cleveland, OH; El Paso, TX; and McAllen, TX.