10 Law Enforcement Grants Available Right Now

I've kept this newsletter monthly so as not to spam followers with marginally relevant information, but since we are in the thick of grant season, a second April issue of the Police Grant Funding Newsletter is warranted. In this issue I provide a list of 10 current grant funding opportunities available to law enforcement agencies and their partners. Many will come due in May or June, so you will want to get writing pretty soon if you haven't started already. The heading links will take you directly to the grant solicitation, and I provide a few tips for each solicitation. If you are a grants novice, our IADLEST certified training, Law Enforcement Grant Writing 101, has several upcoming courses scheduled, including our April and May online training webinar, and in-person courses hosted by police agencies in Indiana, Colorado, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. This grant list is not exhaustive, so you may check out grants.gov and filter by the Department of Justice and Department of Homeland Security to see further opportunities.

1. Bureau of Justice Assistance STOP School Violence Program

Due Date: June 12, 2024

Available Funding: Up to $2M for states and up to $1M for localities, non-profits or school districts

Purpose: With this solicitation, BJA seeks to increase school safety by implementing solutions that will improve school climate, school-based behavioral threat assessments and/or intervention teams to identify school violence risks among students, technological innovations shown to increase school safety such as anonymous reporting technology, and other school safety strategies that assist in preventing violence.

Tips: See the goals and objectives on page eight of the solicitation and align your project to one or more of them. If you intend to implement anonymous reporting software as noted in the objectives section, ConcernCenter is an excellent product that I have experience with and they are familiar with the grants process.

2. Office of Community-Oriented Policing (COPS) School Violence Prevention Program

Due Date: June 17, 2024

Available Funding: Up to $500K

Purpose: The goal of SVPP is to improve security at schools and on school grounds through the implementation of evidence-based school safety programs and technology. SVPP awards will contribute to this goal by funding projects which include funding of civilian personnel to serve as coordinators with local law enforcement, training for local law enforcement officers, purchase and installation of certain allowable equipment and technology, and other measures to significantly improve school security.

Tips: Be sure to read the entire solicitation. Some projects may be out of scope for this grant, but eligible under the BJA solicitation discussed above. Keep in mind that there is a match requirement for this grant. In other words, the COPS Office will fund 75% of the costs associated with the project, but grant recipients will be required to provide funds to cover 25% of the costs.

3. COPS Hiring Program

Due Date: June 12, 2024

Available Funding: Up to $125K over three years

Purpose: The COPS Hiring Program (CHP) provides funding to law enforcement agencies to hire and/or rehire additional career law enforcement officers in an effort to increase their community policing capacity and crime prevention efforts. Anticipated outcomes of CHP awards include engagement in planned community partnerships, implementation of projects to analyze and assess problems, implementation of changes to personnel and agency management in support of community policing, and increased capacity of agency to engage in community policing activities.

Tips: Note that this grant will cover up to $125K in officer salaries over three years, not annually. There is a 25% match requirement that your agency must cover, but there is an option to apply for a match waiver if there is justification, such as budget shortfalls. You have to brush up on community policing, as officers must be used to further a community policing mission. The COPS office has a publication that defines community policing, but you should also use Google Scholar to identify and read more advanced publications. Simply search for "community policing" and there will plenty of freely available publications that you can use to frame your application.

4. Office of Justice Programs Community Based Violence Intervention and Prevention Initiative: Site Based

Due Date: June 10, 2024

Available Funding: Between $2M-$4M depending upon the category

Purpose: With this solicitation, the Office of Justice Programs (OJP) seeks to prevent and reduce violent crime in communities by supporting comprehensive, evidence-based community-based violence intervention and prevention programs. These programs include efforts to address gang and gun violence, based on partnerships among community residents, local government agencies, victim service providers, community-based organizations, law enforcement, hospitals, researchers, and other community stakeholders.

Tips: Consider attending the webinar being hosted by the funding agency on April 25th at 1pm EST. You have to register on their website at the above link in order to attend. This grant has several categories, and the recipient will not be a law enforcement agency, but either a state or local government, non-profit, tribal government, institution of higher education, or other subdivisions of the state. This is a pretty complicated grant, so read closely to ensure you are eligible and that your application is in-line with what they are looking to fund. Avoid mission mismatch with this one.

5. COPS Supporting Law Enforcement Agencies Seeking Accreditation

Due Date: May 28, 2024

Available Funding: Up to $250K

Purpose: The program aims to provide funding for law enforcement agencies seeking accreditation, covering costs associated with obtaining accreditation from existing accreditation entities.

Tips: Clearly explain the need for financial support for accreditation, and develop a detailed project plan that outlines the accreditation process. You will also want to be sure to convey how accreditation will be sustained beyond the grant period. Have a look at what this grant will fund on page 17. You can get a bunch, just be sure to link the purchase specifically to accreditation.

6. Competitive DNA Capacity Enhancement for Backlog Reduction Program

Due Date: June 3, 2024

Available Funding: Up to $1M

Purpose: Funding under this program is used to increase the capacity of publicly funded forensic DNA laboratories to conduct analysis of crime scene samples for entry into CODIS. The program is designed to fairly and efficiently prioritize jurisdictions facing challenges in addressing backlogs by considering key performance measures reported by publicly funded forensic DNA laboratories

Tips: Be sure to complete the FY24 DNA Capacity Enhancement for Backlog Reduction (CEBR) Program Eligibility Certification form. This ensures compliance with eligibility requirements. Check out the goals and objectives on page seven of the solicitation so you are familiar with what they are looking to fund and what they hope labs will achieve. Keep in mind that you must own, control, or operate your own crime laboratory to be eligible. See page eight for further information on eligibility. There is a formula version of this grant, so it is worth having to look to see if you have been provided an allocation. If not, you will have to go for this competitive opportunity.

7. COPS Office Promoting Access to Crisis Teams

Due Date: May 21, 2024

Available Funding: Up to $400K

Purpose: This program aims to enhance law enforcement responses to individuals experiencing mental health crises by funding initiatives such as crisis intervention teams and embedding mental health services within law enforcement agencies. The goal is to divert individuals away from the criminal justice system and towards the appropriate care and services they need.

Tips: Prioritize building partnerships between law enforcement agencies and mental health service providers to ensure effective crisis response efforts. Also, be prepared to clearly demonstrate the need for mental health crisis response services in your community through data analysis, such as call volumes, case referrals, and prior successes or challenges. Plan for ongoing evaluation of the program's effectiveness and sustainability beyond the grant period, including strategies for data collection and community engagement.

8. Rural and Small Department Violent Crime Reduction Program

Due Date: May 22, 2024

Available Funding: Up to $300K

Purpose: This program aims to support small and rural law enforcement agencies, as well as prosecutors serving rural communities, in implementing or enhancing comprehensive violent crime reduction strategies. By funding initiatives aligned with the Violent Crime Reduction Roadmap, the Violent Crime Reduction Operations Guide, or the Prosecutors' Guide to Reducing Violence and Building Safer Communities, the program seeks to increase the capacity of participating agencies to combat violent crime effectively.

Tips: Emphasize evidence-informed strategies outlined in relevant resources to demonstrate a comprehensive approach to violent crime reduction. Check out page three to ensure eligibility by understanding the criteria for small, rural, or tribal law enforcement entities. Be sure to not go over the limit for technology purchases, which is 30% of the overall budget. Also keep in mind that you will have to partner with a researcher or subject matter expert (see page 6), so you will want to reach out to a local University's Criminal Justice Department to see if they will assist you in planning, executing, and monitoring your program.

9. Community Policing Development Microgrants

Due Date: May 21, 2024

Available Funding: Up to $175K

Purpose: The Community Policing Development Microgrants program aims to provide funding to local, state, tribal, and territorial law enforcement agencies for the implementation of demonstration or pilot projects. These projects should offer creative ideas to advance crime fighting, community engagement, problem solving, or organizational changes in support of community policing. The program seeks to develop the capacity of law enforcement agencies to implement community policing strategies, enhance knowledge about effective practices, and promote safe communities.

Tips: This grant will fund projects in six subcategories: community violence intervention, officer recruitment and retention and workforce diversification, hate crimes and domestic extremism, underserved populations, building trust and legitimacy, and an open category. Be sure to do your homework and check out the publications provided in the solicitation for some of these categories. This will ensure an evidence-based proposal, which is imperative. Also be sure to incorporate evaluation and reporting components into project plans to facilitate learning and replication by peer agencies. Finally, consider potential partnerships with community groups, educational institutions, and stakeholders to enhance project impact and sustainability.

10. Law Enforcement Mental Health and Wellness Act Implementation Projects

Due date: April 30, 2024

Available Funding: Up to $200K

Purpose: This grant aims to improve the delivery of and access to mental health and wellness services for law enforcement officers. Through funding for peer support, training, family resources, suicide prevention, and other promising practices, this initiative seeks to enhance the well-being of law enforcement personnel. Projects should focus on implementing new programs or enhancing existing ones to address officer emotional and mental health, peer mentoring, suicide prevention, stress reduction, and support services for officers and their families.

Tips: This grant due date is around the corner, but I am flagging this up to readers now so they can consider applying next year given that I think this is a very important topic. In your application, you will want to clearly outline how proposed program activities will support wellness in the agency(ies) served, emphasizing innovative approaches and evidence-based practices. Over the course of the next year, you should explore opportunities to collaborate with other agencies or regional coalitions to maximize resources and impact and to facilitate a coordinated approach to mental health and wellness initiatives.

I hope that you consider applying to one or more of these open opportunities to help supplement your department's budget, as I know they are tight. As always, good luck grant writing!