$1,875,000 Grant Will Help Camden County Community Policing Efforts

The Camden County Police Department has received a $1,875,000 grant to hire 15 new officers for community policingthrough a federal grant, officials announced.

The grant was awarded through the U.S. Department’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office) COPS Hiring Program (CHP). The grant was part of $13,702,158 in grants awarded in New Jersey, and $119 million in grants nationwide.

“These grants are critically important to expanding community policing and keeping our neighborhoods safe,” U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez said. “We have an obligation to support our local police and to protect our residents, and that’s exactly why I’ll continue to fight to make sure New Jersey’s police departments, like Camden, have the resources they need to hire new officers and get the job done.”

“As communities across the nation are forced to make tough budget decisions, this federal grant will bolster public safety by helping ensure New Jersey police departments like Camden are adequately staffed,” U.S. Sen. Cory Booker said. “The COPS program makes critical investments in innovating and enhancing the effectiveness of community policing, which is why I stand committed to ensuring it’s fully funded.”

“This funding will enable the Camden County Police Department to continue its mission of being a national example of community policing at its best, just as President Obama remarked when he visited Camden City last year. I know that under the leadership of Chief Scott Thomson, the Camden County Police Department will continue to make critical connections with our neighbors and build a lasting trust among community members to make Camden safer for its residents and visitors,” Congressman Donald Norcross (N.J.-01) said.

CHP provides funding directly to state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies for the hiring and rehiring of entry-level career law enforcement officers in an effort to create and preserve jobs and increase community policing capacity and crime prevention efforts.

All CHP applicants were asked to identify a specific crime and disorder problem area and how funding would be used to initiate or enhance their capacity to implement community policing approaches to that problem area.

In 2016, the COPS Office gave additional consideration to applicant agencies selecting the category of “Building Trust,” based on the final report of the President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing.

Additional consideration was also given to agencies that selected the areas of school-based policing, homicide or violent crime, and homeland security.

Applicants who committed to hiring or rehiring at least one military veteran under CHP also received additional consideration for funding.