FY26 COPS Hiring Program
Community Oriented Policing Services
Summary
The Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) is the component of the U.S. Department of Justice responsible for advancing the practice of community policing and supporting the Administration’s priority of Making America Safe Again by the nation’s state, local, territorial and Tribal law enforcement agencies through information and grant resources. The purpose of CHP is to fund law enforcement agencies to hire and/or rehire additional career sworn law enforcement officers/deputies in an effort to increase their community policing capacity and crime prevention efforts. Anticipated outcomes of CHP awards include engagement in planned community partnerships, implementation of projects to analyze and assess problems, implementation of changes to personnel and agency management in support of community policing, and increased capacity of agency to engage in community policing activities.
Eligibility
Eligible applicants are limited to established and operational local, state, territorial, and Tribal law enforcement agencies that have primary law enforcement authority. In addition, state and local governmental entities must comply with 8 U.S.C. §1373, which provides that state and local government entities may not prohibit, or in any way restrict, any government entity or official from sending to, receiving from, maintaining, or exchanging information regarding citizenship or immigration status, lawful or unlawful, of any individual with components of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security or any other federal, state or local government entity. This includes any prohibitions or restrictions imposed or established by a state or local government entity or official. | applicant types: State governments; City or township governments; Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized); Others (see text field entitled "Additional Information on Eligibility" for clarification); County governments