FY23 Microgrants -Community Policing Development Solicitation

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. Community Policing Development (CPD) Microgrants funds are used to develop the capacity of law enforcement to implement community policing strategies by providing guidance on promising practices through the development and testing of innovative strategies; building knowledge about effective practices and outcomes; and supporting new, creative approaches to preventing crime and promoting safe communities. 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 AskCopsRC@usdoj.gov. The COPS Office Response Center operates Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. ET, except on federal holidays. 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. CPD Microgrants Multiple awards, up to $175,000 CPD Microgrants program funds are used to develop law enforcement’s capacity to implement community policing strategies by providing funding to local, state, tribal, and territorial law enforcement agencies. When properly applied, community policing improves the identification and prioritization of community problems; builds trust and relationships between law enforcement and the communities they serve; and enables an agency to build a culture toward accountability, transparency, open communication, and mutual trust. Applicants are invited to propose demonstration or pilot projects to be implemented in their agency offering creative ideas that advance crime fighting, community engagement, problem solving, or organizational changes in support of community policing in one of five engagement areas: (1) community violence intervention, (2) officer recruitment and retention and workforce diversification, (3) hate crimes and domestic extremism, (4) underserved populations, or (5) building trust and legitimacy with the community. The COPS Office encourages law enforcement agencies to partner nonprofit organizations, institutions of higher education, community groups, youth groups, and faith-based organizations to facilitate organized dialogues that bring together community members and law enforcement officers so that they may collaborate to develop shared goals that will enhance the collective safety of the community. The dialogues should include diverse groups of community members, local elected officials, law enforcement leaders and officers, business leaders, and community members, including youth groups, to assess the state of police-community relations in States and local communities. The COPS Office also encourages agencies to consider evidence-based practices or evaluation components based on the type of activities. If proposing to implement a pre-existing program (such as Police Athletic Leagues, Boys and Girls Clubs of America, Explorers, or Coffee with a Cop), the applicant will need to justify how their replication is innovative or builds on prior program success. Under this solicitation, the COPS Office will fund projects in the following subcategories: Community Violence Intervention Officer Recruitment and Retention and Workforce Diversification Hate Crimes and Domestic Extremism Underserved Populations Building Trust and Legitimacy with the Community Community Violence Intervention As the nation grapples with the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, some communities are experiencing an epidemic of community violence, including increasing gun violence. This violence impacts not only the victims and their loved ones but also the entire community. It creates physical injury, trauma, and fear, along with other long-lasting consequences. In June 2021, the White House announced a comprehensive strategy to combat gun violence and other violent crime, including Community Violence Interventions (CVI) and enforcement of violations of federal gun laws. In addition, in response to a perceived increase in violent crimes throughout the country, U.S. Attorney General Merrick B. Garland announced a new effort to reduce violent crime. The strategy establishes a set of four fundamental principles to guide violent crime reduction: Building trust and earning legitimacy Investing in prevention and intervention programs Targeted enforcement efforts and priorities Measuring results Addressing street-level community violence in a holistic, multipronged approach strengthens community resilience and builds social capital. The COPS Office will provide funding to develop and enhance programs that engage the community in violence reduction efforts including street outreach, violence interrupters, hospital- based interventions, group violence interventions, and other strategies that provide wraparound services to communities. Special consideration will be given to programs that develop or enhance gun violence interventions. Agencies should identify a list of activities and strategies based on prior research and best or promising practices. Applicants should clearly source each activity and strategy in the application. Agencies are encouraged to partner with institutions of higher education, community groups, other criminal justice stakeholders, and the general public on project activities. Officer Recruitment and Retention and Workforce Diversification Officer recruitment and retention are essential to the function of law enforcement agencies. Attracting and retaining the best law enforcement candidates who represent a diversity of backgrounds, knowledge, and experiences is essential to supporting the implementation of community policing. In addition to reflecting the communities they serve, new officers and deputies must have strong analytical and problem-solving skills, good communication skills, adaptability, an understanding of agency policies and procedures, and training. The Police Executive Research Forum (PERF) Survey on Police Workforce Trends released in 2021 found reductions in hiring and retention in law enforcement agencies nationwide. According to PERF, agencies reported an 18 percent increase in resignations and a 5 percent reduction in hiring from 2019 to 2020. In addition, the report notes that a large number of retirements has also impacted law enforcement agencies, reporting a 45 percent increase in the retirement rate during that year. Many agencies are working to combat the challenges of recruitment and retention, as well as increase diversification in the profession of policing. One such initiative is the 30x30 Initiative, in which agencies pledge to increase women in their recruit classes by 30 percent by 2030 (30x30iniative.org). Such initiatives provide a valuable framework for agencies that desire improved gender diversity among their staff. The COPS Office seeks demonstration or pilot projects with creative methods for recruitment and retention and the advancement of diverse representation in law enforcement that include quantitative measures of success to better reflect the diversity of the community or to meet the standards of the 30x30 Initiative. Applicants should identify a list of activities and strategies based on prior research and best or promising practices. Applicants should clearly source each activity and strategy in the project narrative. A variety of objectives can be proposed to achieve the project goal(s) and may involve agency personnel and resources as well as community partners. Hate Crimes and Domestic Extremism Hate crimes (sometimes called bias-motivated crimes) are criminal offenses motivated by some form of bias toward victims based on their perceived or actual race, color, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, or disability. Hate crimes have a broader effect than most other kinds of crime, especially because hate crime victims include not only the crimes’ immediate targets but also others like them. Likewise, the impact of domestic extremism is felt broadly because the intent is often to intimidate, coerce, or influence national policy by violence against the population or the national infrastructure. The ripple effects from hate crimes and domestic extremism not only impact community security but also can erode community engagement and trust. The COPS Office will provide funding to develop or enhance programs that aid in the prevention of and response to hate crimes and domestic extremism. Agencies are encouraged to partner with institutions of higher education, community groups, other criminal justice stakeholders, and the general public on project activities. Applicants should visit the DOJ hate crimes website and review the strategies listed in "Preventing Hate Crimes in Your Community" as well as the law enforcement resources in "Resources." Underserved Populations Law enforcement has a duty to serve and protect all community members equally. Based on individual community and neighborhood dynamics, an agency may need to adapt its approaches, especially when policing the most underserved populations. Underserved populations may include youth, older adults, communities of color, persons experiencing homelessness, LGBTQ+ individuals, persons with disabilities (physical, mental, or intellectual or neurodivergent), undocumented immigrants, and persons in economically disadvantaged situations. The COPS Office will provide funding to develop or enhance programs that meet the needs of these and other underserved populations. The application should identify the population(s) that will be the target audience for the project activities and how the agency determined that audience. Agencies are encouraged to partner with institutions of higher education, community groups, other criminal justice stakeholders, and the general public on project activities. For example, agencies may partner with nonprofit, higher education, and faith-based organizations to facilitate dialogues to develop shared goals that will enhance the collective safety of the community. Building Trust and Legitimacy with the Community Building trust and legitimacy is a foundational principle of building and maintaining relationships. Innovative and creative COPS Office resources help law enforcement engage community leaders, foster restorative justice, build lasting partnerships, and improve the health of our communities. The COPS Office will provide funding to law enforcement agencies seeking to develop or enhance programs that focus on building trust and legitimacy between law enforcement and the communities they serve. Agencies are encouraged to partner with institutions of higher education, community groups, other criminal justice stakeholders, and the general public on project activities. For example, agencies may partner with diverse groups of community members, local elected officials, business leaders, and community members, including youth groups, to facilitate convenings around critical topics facing public safety. These convenings can be documented and shared with the COPS Office for broader distribution to other communities facing the same challenges. Dialogues through local partnerships with these types of organizations are also highly encouraged. Projects Out of Scope Applicants that are not state, local, tribal, or territorial law enforcement agencies will not be considered. Projects to fund the salaries and benefits of new local law enforcement officers and deputies will not be considered. If you are seeking this type of funding, please visit the COPS Office website for updates on the COPS Hiring Program (CHP). Projects that exclusively seek to purchase technology, software or mobile applications, or equipment without offering broader training, programming, or services to support those tools will not be considered. Projects that budget the majority of their funding for generally unallowable costs such as vehicles, food, exercise and recreational equipment, and promotional items such as gifts and souvenirs as outlined in this solicitation will not be considered. Additional Requirements The primary goal of these projects is to provide law enforcement agencies funding for demonstration or pilot projects that increase their capacity to implement innovative projects that engage the community on a broad range of public safety issues and increase engagement between law enforcement and the communities they serve. These projects should offer creative ideas to advance crime fighting, community engagement, problem solving, and organizational changes to support community policing. The project description should also address the following: How will the proposed program activities be used to increase engagement? Identify a list of activities and strategies and the intended service area and size of the program (e.g., one agency, more than one agency, one population group, or multiple population groups). What is the subject matter expertise of the project leadership or partners? The applicant should clearly source each activity and strategy in the application questions. What will be the reported outcomes of the program activities? Deliverables The project deliverable(s) should be clearly identified and described in the application questions. The deliverable should document the applicants’ efforts, lessons learned, and promising practices that can be shared with the broader law enforcement field. These deliverables can be articles, conference presentations, webinars, brief reports or summaries, and other tools (videos, toolkits, podcasts, etc.) that benefit other law enforcement agencies. These deliverables may be published (including development assistance, editing, design, and distribution) by the COPS Office at no expense to the award recipient (see Camden County Police Department: Crime Analysis, Technical Assistance, and Consultation; Salt Lake City Police Department Homeless Outreach Service Team (HOST) Program Overview; Park Ridge’s Success Story on Going Beyond Crisis Intervention Team Training: Building Whole-Community Responses to Mental Health; and Mitakuye Oyasin (We Are All Related) video for examples). Successful applicants will have the opportunity to participate in a community of practice with other award recipients to promote the exchange of promising practices and help the COPS Office share ideas and lessons learned with the broader field.
Categories: Law, Justice and Legal Services.