Description
Overview of the COPS Office The Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office) is the component of the U.S. Department of Justice responsible for advancing the practice of community policing by the nation's state, local, territorial, and tribal law enforcement agencies through information and grant resources. The COPS Office has invested more than $14 billion to advance community policing, including grants awarded to more than 13,000 state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies to fund the hiring and redeployment of more than 134,000 officers. COPS Office information resources, covering a wide range of community policing topics such as school and campus safety, violent crime, and officer safety and wellness, can be downloaded via the COPS Office's home page, www.cops.usdoj.gov. For more information about the COPS Office please see "Other Information". Statutory Authority This program is authorized under the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 as amended by 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. The Attorney General shall use amounts otherwise appropriated to make competitive grants to State law enforcement agencies in States with high per capita rates of primary treatment admissions, for the purpose of locating or investigating illicit activities, through statewide collaboration, relating to the distribution of heroin, fentanyl, or carfentanil or relating to the unlawful distribution of prescription opioids. Program Description The AHTF program advances public safety by making competitive grants to State law enforcement agencies in States with high per capita rates of primary treatment admissions, for the purpose of locating or investigating illicit activities, through Statewide collaboration, relating to the distribution of heroin, fentanyl, or carfentanil, or relating to the unlawful distribution of prescription opioids. The goal of the AHTF program is to increase the capacity of law enforcement agencies at the state level to address heroin and opioid abuse through improving investigations and establishing and enhancing multijurisdictional task forces. By providing funding for additional law enforcement, civilian, and task force personnel, training, and equipment, the program seeks to increase the number of hours devoted to statewide task forces, increase the number and variety of agencies participating in task forces, and enhance the analytical capability of task forces. Anticipated outcomes of AHTF awards include: increased collaboration with federal agencies; increased analytical reporting; increased information sharing among participating agencies; increased number and efficiency of investigations; increased percentage of investigations resulting in arrests, referrals, prosecutions, and ultimately convictions; increased knowledge and use of community policing principles; increased number of drug-endangered children identified; and increased number of and size of drug seizures. This is a competitive, discretionary program. The Department of Justice is committed to advancing work that promotes civil rights, increases access to justice, supports crime victims, protects the public from crime and evolving threats, and builds trust between law enforcement and the community. Law enforcement plays a vital role in each of these areas, through developing and maintaining meaningful relationships with all segments of their communities, and working in partnership with those communities to provide effective crime prevention, intervention, and response services and resources. For all Fiscal Year 2021 COPS Office grant solicitations, applicants should consider these priorities when applying for COPS Office funding to advance community policing, and address these strategic planning priorities within their applications as applicable.