Community Policing Demonstration Program

The "Demonstration Sites Program" was a 3-year grant initiative of the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) to design, demonstrate, and assess a comprehensive, department-wide community policing prototype in selected law enforcement agencies and communities and disseminate findings to the police profession.

In 1994, BJA awarded grants to 16 cities under this Community Policing Demonstration Program. These sites were selected because they had proposed to implement comprehensive community policing efforts that could serve as models for other jurisdictions. The program was to fund sites for up to 3 years, depending on demonstrated success and funding availability. Responsibility for the program was transferred to the newly created COPS Office during the program's second year.

The COPS Office's role in implementing the Community Policing Demonstration Program grants included coordinating budget clearances with the Office of the Comptroller, notifying grantees of changes in budgets, reviewing technical proposals, conducting site visits to examine community policing activities and monitor compliance, and performing administrative duties on an as-needed basis.

The COPS Office funded 13 of the original 16 sites for up to $100,000 per site for each of the second and third years of the grant program, with no-cost extensions granted on a case-by-case basis.

COPS funded sites in Tempe, AZ; Hayward, CA; San Diego, CA; Hillsborough, FL; St. Petersburg, FL; Chicago, IL; Ann Arbor, MI; St. Paul, MN; Eugene, OR; Santee-Lynches, SC; Knoxville, TN; Austin, TX; and Spokane, WA.