SPOKANE – Vanessa R. Waldref, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington, announced multiple Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office) grant awards, totaling more than $1.7 million for the counties in Eastern Washington.
In total, COPS awarded more than $334 million to support state, local, and Tribal public safety and community justice activities. The grants announced today include funding to help law enforcement agencies hire over 1,730 new law enforcement officers across the country while also providing critical funding to support school safety and continue to advance community policing nationwide.
The grants awarded in the Eastern District of Washington are as follows:
| Recipient | Grant Title | Award Amount |
| Washington State University | Supporting Law Enforcement Agencies in Seeking Accreditation | $133,178 |
| Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation | Equipment and Training Award | $827,661 |
| Eastern Washington University | 2023 COPS Hiring Program (CHP) Awards | 2 Officers – $250,000 |
| Soap Lake | 2023 COPS Hiring Program (CHP) Awards | 1 Officer – $125,000 |
| City of Kennewick | Law Enforcement Mental Health and Wellness Act Implementation Projects | $129,173 |
| Republic School District | School Violence Prevention Program | $244,026 |
“Local law enforcement is a crucial component of our mission to make and keep the communities of Eastern Washington safe and strong,” said United States Attorney Vanessa R. Waldref. I am pleased these funds will be used give critical support to the work law enforcement is doing on our streets and schools. These awards will support communities, schools, and universities in both urban and rural areas in our district. I am grateful that funding also is being devoted to improving public safety in our Native American communities and elsewhere.”
“Law enforcement officers across the country are showing up every day to protect their communities in the face of unprecedented challenges,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “These grants, which support the hiring of more than 1700 new officers and make critical investments in school safety and crisis intervention efforts, will help provide local law enforcement agencies with the resources they need to keep their communities safe, support officers, and build public trust.”
Complete lists of all program award recipients, including funding amounts, can be found here.
The COPS Office is the federal component of the Department of Justice responsible for advancing community policing nationwide. The only Department of Justice agency with policing in its name, the COPS Office was established in 1994 and has been the cornerstone of the nation’s crime fighting strategy with grants, a variety of knowledge resource products, and training and technical assistance. Through the years, the COPS Office has become the go-to organization for law enforcement agencies across the country and continues to listen to the field and provide the resources that are needed to reduce crime and build trust between law enforcement and the communities served. Since its creation in 1994, COPS 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 135,000 officers. For additional information about the COPS Office, please visit https://cops.usdoj.gov/.
