Contra Costa County Gets $82K Public Safety Grant Amid Pandemic

CONTRA COSTA COUNTY, CA — Contra Costa County has been awarded $82,337 in federal grant funding to help law enforcement and public safety agencies impacted by the new coronavirus pandemic.

Local governments can use the money as they see fit, but it might go toward new hires, overtime pay, protective gear, the distribution of resources and medical care for inmates, according to a news release from the U.S. Department of Justice.

“The outbreak of COVID-19 and the public health emergency it created are sobering reminders that even the most routine duties performed by our nation’s public safety officials carry potentially grave risks,” said Katharine T. Sullivan, principal deputy assistant attorney general for the Office of Justice Programs, in the release.

More than $7 million in total was distributed to local governments in Northern California as part of the Coronavirus Emergency Supplemental Funding program, which includes 170 awards totaling more than $272 million, according to the Bureau of Justice Assistance website.

The funding was awarded last week.