The Mobile Police Department will be able to hire an additional 15 officers thanks to a $1.4 million grant from the federal government — an allocation that was announced Monday afternoon.
United States Attorney General Loretta Lynch announced more than $107 million in grant funding for law enforcement around the country through the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office) COPS Hiring Program on Sept. 21.
Of that $107 million dollars, only two cities in Alabama saw any of the money, and Mobile is the larger of the two by far. According to a press release from the COPS Office, Gulf Shores will also be receiving $250,000, which should be enough to fund an additional two officers in the coastal community.
The COPS Hiring Program (CHP) is designed to advance public safety through community policing by addressing the full-time sworn officer needs of state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies nationwide. CHP provides funds directly to law enforcement agencies to assist with hiring new officers, rehiring career officers and increase its community policing capacity and crime prevention efforts.
So far, Mobile Police Chief James Barber has not spoken to the media about receiving the grant, but his comments will be added as they are received by Lagniappe.
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