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. Law Enforcement Mental Health and Wellness Act (LEMHWA) program funds are used to improve the delivery of and access to mental health and wellness services for law enforcement officers through the implementation of peer support, training, family resources, suicide prevention, and other promising practices for wellness programs. With this funding, the COPS Office supports 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. 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. 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 solicitation is being announced as an open competition. Please note that applicants may submit multiple applications, but you must submit a separate application for each project. Any application that does not clearly state the solicitation, may not pass the basic minimum requirement phase of the review process. The following sections will provide further background, requirements, and details for your application. In addition, all applicants should keep the following general requirements in mind: All award recipients will be expected to begin work immediately upon selection and notification of award. For all identified deliverables, the applicant must adhere to the requirements set forth in the COPS Office Curriculum Standards and Review Process Guides, which can be found at https://cops.usdoj.gov/training. For all identified deliverables, the applicant must adhere to the requirements set forth in the COPS Office conference request approval process. 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.