DOJ awards $16M in grants for community policing, active shooter training

By Suzie Ziegler

WASHINGTON — A total of $16 million in grant money has been awarded to law enforcement organizations and institutions, according to a release Wednesday from the Department of Justice’s Community Oriented Policing Services Office. Just over $7.7 million of the funding will go towards advancing community policing at organizations across the country. Another $8.5 million will go toward active shooter training at Texas State University for first responders.

“One of the top priorities of the Department of Justice is to keep communities safe from violent crime,” said COPS Office Director Phil Keith. “The two grant programs announced today will promote promising best practices to advance community policing, which is a proven public safety approach, and provide much-needed training against active shooters, which remain a constant threat to the citizens of this great country.”

The Community Policing Development (CPD) funds were awarded to 24 organizations which vary from chiefs’ and sheriffs’ associations to university education programs.

The $8.5 million awarded to the Preparing for Active Shooter Situations (PASS) program will sponsor training for about 20,000 first responders at Texas State University’s Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training (ALERRT), according to the release.