Governor’s Office of Crime Control and Prevention Releases Notice of Funding Availability for Police Recruitment and Retention Grant
New Funding Provides Additional Resources for Police Departments to Bolster Ranks
The Governor’s Office of Crime Control and Prevention (GOCCP) has released the Notice of Funding Availability for $3 million in funds for the Police Recruitment and Retention grant. This grant is intended to provide funding to local law enforcement agencies to recruit and retain qualified sworn police officers. Local law enforcement agencies from across Maryland are eligible for the Police Recruitment and Retention grant application process, which applies to recruitment and retention efforts proposed between July of 2019 and June of 2020.
“A key part of our mission is to provide funding to support the vital and unselfish work of our men and women in law enforcement,” said Glenn Fueston, Executive Director of the Governor’s Office of Crime Control and Prevention. “Law enforcement can be thankless work that comes with a great number of sacrifices. This Police Recruitment and Retention Grant funding will give law enforcement agencies another tool to keep officers who dedicate their lives to service, and continue to bolster their ranks.”
Recruitment efforts that qualify under this grant include but are not limited to: bonuses for bilingual language proficiency, veterans, officers with undergraduate degrees, and bonuses for officers who recruit new candidates assigned to an academy class. Retention efforts qualifying under this grant include, but are not limited to: tuition reimbursement for undergraduate or graduate courses, health club memberships, and allowance for uniform clothing. Grant applicants are encouraged to submit proposals in support of innovative recruitment and retention strategies.
Law enforcement agencies are encouraged to submit applications for funding that include other innovative recruitment or retention efforts which are demonstrated to be effective. Grantees will be required to track and measure program outputs and outcomes which must be recorded and submitted to GOCCP quarterly. Applications will be considered and awarded on a rolling basis through May 1, 2020, while funds are available.
For more information, please reference the Notice of Funding Availability and the GOCCP grants website: http://goccp.maryland.gov/grants/