Washington, D.C. – Rhode Island’s Congressional delegation today applauded the announcement by the Obama Administration that the Providence Police Department will receive $3,529,812 in COPS Hiring Recovery Program grants (CHRP) to hire or retain police offers. The funding was made available through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), which the delegation supported.
Rhode Island police departments have seen their budgets cut during the current economic crisis, making it difficult to hire, train, or fully equip their forces. The funds announced today for Providence will be used to create or preserve 13 law enforcement positions. In March the delegation urged participants to apply for grants as soon as possible to take full advantage of the new funding.
“This federal funding will enable local communities throughout the state to hire 26 additional police officers who will help serve and protect the people of Rhode Island,” said Senator Jack Reed (D-R.I.), who helped pass the original COPS program in 1994 when he served in the U.S. House of Representatives.
“Each and every city and town in Rhode Island needs a police force that has the resources it needs to keep us safe,” said Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), who served as Rhode Island’s Attorney General from 1999 to 2003 and now sits on the Senate Judiciary Committee. “Funding from the economic recovery bill will help keep officers at work in our neighborhoods and prevent crime.”
“These federal funds will ensure that our communities are able to create and preserve critical law enforcement jobs while protecting public safety. As a member of the appropriations subcommittee which funds the COPS program, I am pleased to support this investment which will keep police officers in our neighborhoods and help ease some of the pressures on local budgets,” said Representative Patrick Kennedy (D-R.I).
“In a time when city and town budgets are stretched and tough decisions are needed, I am pleased this stimulus funding will help keep officers on the beat and our neighborhoods safe,” said Representative Jim Langevin (D-R.I).
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009 allocated $1 billion to the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) for the COPS Hiring Recovery Program (CHRP), a competitive grant program that pays full salaries and benefits for new police officers for three years, with no local match required.
Other Rhode Island cities receiving COPS grants included Woonsocket, Pawtucket, and Central Falls. The Narragansett Indians also received a grant. This funding, a total of $6,513,301, will help Rhode Island create or preserve 26 law enforcement positions throughout the state.
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