Community policing is a philosophy that promotes organizational strategies that support the systematic use of partnerships and problem-solving techniques to proactively address the immediate conditions that give rise to public safety issues such as violent crime, nonviolent crime, and fear of crime. Preparing for Active Shooter Situations (PASS) program funds are used to increase law enforcement and public safety by providing funds for scenario-based training that prepares officers and other first responders to safely and effectively handle active-shooter and other violent threats. The COPS Office is committed to advancing work that promotes civil rights and racial equity, increases access to justice, supports crime victims and individuals impacted by the justice system, strengthens community safety and protects the public from crime and evolving threats, and build trust between law enforcement and the community. Statutory Authority This program is authorized under the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968, as amended, and the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, Title I, Part Q, Public Law 103-322, 34 U.S.C. § 10381 et seq. All awards are subject to the availability of appropriated funds and any modifications or additional requirements that may be imposed by law. Program-Specific Information This program is authorized under the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968, as amended, and the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, Title I, Part Q, Public Law 103-322, 34 U.S.C. § 10381 et seq. All awards are subject to the availability of appropriated funds and any modifications or additional requirements that may be imposed by law. For all identified deliverables, the applicant should adhere to the COPS Office Editorial and Style Manual. For projects that propose site-specific work, letters of support from the targeted agencies are strongly encouraged. With any programmatic questions, please contact the COPS Office Response Center at 800-421-6770 or send questions via email to
[email protected]. The COPS Office Response Center operates Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. ET, except on federal holidays. Program Goals Under this solicitation, the COPS Office seeks to support projects that allow for the identification and expansion of promising practices and produces knowledge products that follow the principles of good guidance: Quality-driven, with an emphasis on action statements to drive promising practices and reduce variations in performance Evidence-based, with recommendations that are consistent with the weight of the best available evidence identified through systematic review Accessible, with clear language and manageable lengths that are appropriate and relevant for the law enforcement field Memorable, to encourage immediate actions or aid for the complex situations law enforcement professionals face To read an overview of the principles of community policing, please see the COPS Office publication Community Policing Defined. Applicants should also consider the COPS Office performance measures when developing their own specific project goals and activities, which can be found in the "Performance Measures" section of this application. Preparing for Active Shooter Situations One award, up to $12,000,000 The COPS Office Preparing for Active Shooter Situations (PASS) Program is designed to meet the goal of the 2016 Protecting Our Lives by Initiating COPS Expansion (POLICE) Act in offering "scenario-based, integrated response courses designed to counter active shooter threats or acts of terrorism against individuals or facilities" ) 34 U.S.C. § 10381(b)(17). The COPS Office seeks a provider who can train at least 20,000 first responders nationwide over the course of the award through scenario-based, multidisciplinary training classes. The training should be available to any jurisdiction in the U.S. and delivered in the desired location of the requesting agency, to include law enforcement, fire, and emergency medical services (EMS). The target audience for the delivered training is a multidisciplinary team of first responders, which includes law enforcement, fire, emergency medical services (EMS), dispatchers, medical personnel, facility security, emergency management, and any other professionals who may reasonably be key to a successful integrated response to an active shooter event. The training provider should be able to assist the requesting agency in determining which responders make the most sense to be included in a multidisciplinary class. The training provider should be able to offer training in the following topic areas: Incident command system training for EMS, fire and law enforcement to improve coordination when responding to active shooter incidents Training for medical first responders on best practices to treat victims of active shooter incidents. Training for emergency call center staff (dispatchers) to improve communications to fire, EMS and law enforcement agencies during active shooter incidents. In addition to providing integrated multidisciplinary training, the provider should also offer courses to law enforcement on the principles of team and solo officer movement, defense, tactics, car stops, entry techniques, evaluation of response, and the importance of post engagement requirements to develop better response to active shooter incidents. The training should be conducted in a controlled environment and evaluated to inform ongoing training. The provider should also offer a training course for school resource officers (SRO) and school personnel on both preparing their communities for a hostile event and responding to an active shooter. Part of the training should include information on a response and recovery plan and the importance of coordination with community resources and stakeholders, student engagement and problem solving, innovative methods to support communities in rural areas and with limited resources. Training should include simulation exercises in schools to ensure first responders and school staff are trained in a realistic environment. A minimum of ten percent of training directed to audiences responsible for active shooter response in schools and on campuses. This training will provide priority access for SROs funded through the CHP Program. All offered training should recognize that civilians are part of the first response to an active shooter and when they are prepared, they can be valuable to law enforcement in rapidly ending the threat. The training should have clear learning objectives, opportunities for simulated, scenario-based exercises, and participant evaluations of the course and materials for the purposes of continuous improvement. The provider may propose the use of existing curricula, the modification of curricula, and the development of new curricula to meet these requirements. The provider should be able to conduct ongoing evaluation of their training offerings, including short and long-term follow up with participating jurisdictions on the usefulness of the training and local efforts to reinforce knowledge and skills. The provider should demonstrate their ability to obtain certification for their training programs via state Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) Commissions or national certification bodies. In recognition of workforce turnover and the realities of skill depreciation, the provider should offer virtual, online, or other supplemental materials for all offered courses to aid agencies in reinforcing knowledge and skills with their multidisciplinary partners. Finally, the provider should demonstrate their ability to stay on top of the latest developments, standards, and after-action reviews of active shooter events, helping the COPS Office and its first responder partners to understand the evolving nature of these events and apply analysis of events to continually improving the quality of the training courses. As part of this work, the provider should develop a plan to test tactical responses in a controlled environment and evaluate to inform ongoing training. Projects Out of Scope Agencies looking for active shooter training will not be considered. If you are seeking requests for training or technical assistance, please visit the COPS Office website for information on the COPS Office technical assistance. Organizations unable to deliver national training will not be considered. Organizations unable to train at least 20,000 individual first responders over the course of the award will not be considered. Projects that do not focus on active shooter training will not be considered. Additional Requirements The primary goal is to offer "scenario-based, integrated response courses designed to counter active shooter threats or acts of terrorism against individuals or facilities" 42 U.S.C. § 3796dd(b)(17). The project description should address the following objectives: Train at least 20,000 first responders across the United States over the course of the award through scenario-based, multidisciplinary training classes. A minimum of ten percent of training directed to audiences responsible for active shooter response in schools and on campuses. This training will provide priority access for school resource officers funded through the CHP Program. Test tactical responses in a controlled environment and evaluate to inform ongoing training. Conduct ongoing evaluation of their training offerings, including short and long-term follow up with participating jurisdictions on the usefulness of the training and local efforts to reinforce knowledge and skills. Deliverables The primary deliverables of the award should include the following: Train at least 20,000 first responders across the United States over the course of the award through scenario-based, multidisciplinary training classes. Provide Incident command system training for EMS, fire and law enforcement to improve coordination when responding to active shooter incidents Provide training for medical first responders on best practices to treat victims of active shooter incidents. Provide training for emergency call center staff (dispatchers) to improve communications to fire, EMS and law enforcement agencies during active shooter incidents. Training on the principles of team and solo officer movement, defense tactics, car stops, entry techniques, evaluation of response, and the importance of post engagement requirements to develop better response to active shooter incidents. Provide training to primary schools, secondary schools, and college campuses, and that such training is an integrated training with officers and local law enforcement; there is also a focus on trained personnel. Provide a training course for SROs and school personnel on both preparing their communities for a hostile event and responding to an active shooter. Conduct ongoing evaluation of their training offerings, including short and long-term follow up with participating jurisdictions on the usefulness of the training and local efforts to reinforce knowledge and skills. The project deliverable(s) should be clearly identified in the application projective narrative. Training deliverables must (1) be compatible with the COPS Office Training Portal; (2) include virtual training program files for the COPS Office Training Portal developed in conjunction with the Portal team throughout beta testing, and release; and (3) include certification of the training(s).