APD Gets $1.87 Million In Federal COPS Grants

The U.S. Department of Justice's Office of Community Oriented Policing Services awarded more than $111 million to law enforcement agencies nationwide, including $3.4 million to Georgia.

The effort is aimed at creating 600 new police positions and save 200 others in danger of elimination because of local budget cuts.

The bulk of the $3.4 million earmarked for Georgia will go to the Atlanta Police Department, which is to receive $1.87 million. MARTA will receive $625,000 and the Newton County Sheriff's Department will receive the rest.

An APD spokesman said the funding allows the department to fund 15 new officers.

In order to be funded by the COPS 2012 Hiring Program, all of the new law enforcement positions must be filled by recent military veterans who have served at least 180 days since Sept. 11, 2001.

The program provides the salary and benefits for officer and deputy hires for three years.

Besides the promise to hire military veterans, grantees for the 2012 Hiring Program were selected based on fiscal need and local crime rates, the DOJ said.