In total, local law enforcement agencies will be able to hire up to 2,732 full-time officers with the funds, the DOJ said in a press release. The COPS Office funding can also be used to help state and local departments improve their community policing strategies and to rehire laid-off officers. A law enforcement agency’s most valuable assets are the men and women who put their lives on the line every day in the name of protecting and serving their communities. — Attorney General Bill BarrThe new officers will all have to pass a background check, according to the COPS Office. Law enforcement agencies had to apply for the program and were required to show a specific crime problem in their community and explain how they would use the funding to address it through community policing.

Source: Fox News June 02, 2020 21:11 UTC