April 18, 2013
The Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) invited NAPO to a briefing on April 17 to discuss the
FY 2013 COPS Hiring Program (CHP). CHP is a competitive grant program that provides funding directly to law
enforcement agencies having primary law enforcement authority to hire and/or rehire career law enforcement officers
in an effort to increase their community policing capacity and crime prevention efforts .
The Acting Director of the COPS Office, Mr. Joshua Ederheimer, opened the meeting by noting that the FY 2014
Presidential Budget Request includes $439.5 million for the COPS Program, which is a 121 percent increase over FY
2012 funding levels. The budget request includes $217 million for COPS Hiring. The following provides details on
the CHP application process that were discussed during today's briefing.
Eligibility:
-All local, state, and tribal law enforcement agencies that have primary law enforcement authority are eligible to apply.
FY 2013 CUP Information:
-FY 2013 CHP grants will cover up to 75 percent of the approved entry-level salary and benefits for three years (36
months) for newly hired, full-time, sworn officer positions, or for rehired officers who have been laid off, or are
scheduled to be laid off on a specific future date, as a result of local budget cuts. A minimum 25 percent local cash
match is required.
-Under 2013 CHP, there is also a maximum federal contribution of$125,000 per position over the three-year grant
period . At the conclusion of federal funding, grantees must retain all sworn officer positions awarded under the CHP
grant . The retained CHP-funded positions should be added to the grantee's law enforcement budget with state and/or
local funds, and over the number of locally-funded positions that would have existed in the absence of the grant.
-The COPS Office has capped the number of officers than an agency can request through the FY 2013 CHP program:
all agencies' requests will be capped at no more than 5% of their actual sworn force strength at the time of applications .
Agencies with a service population of 1 million or more may apply for up to 25 officer positions; agencies with a
service population less than 1 million may apply for up to 15 positions. The request of any agency with a sworn force
strength less than or equal to 20 will be capped at one officer.
Timelines:
-The COPS Office will begin accepting grant applications for the FY 2013 CHP beginning the week of April 22, 2013.
-Applications for this year's CHP solicitation must be completed and submitted by 7:59pm EDT on Wednesday, May
22,2013, in order to receive consideration.
-The CHP grant award announcement should occur before September 30, 2013.
Copyright © NAPO 2013. All rights reserved. Application:
-The application consists of two parts, and both must be completed by May 22nd. Applicants must first complete the
SF-424 on www.grants.gov. (The SF-424 is the government wide standard form required for competitive grant
application packages). Once the SF-424 has been submitted, applicants will receive an e-mail from the COPS Office
with instructions for completing the second part of the CHP application through the COPS Office Online Application
System.
Tips:
-The briefers stressed the importance of completing the SF-424 as quickly as possible.
-Applicants should ensure passwords are current for both the government grants and COPS websites .
-Applicants should prepare to identify one community policing problem the agency will address with requested
funding. Applicants should consider current and planned community policing efforts and how they can build
community partnerships, complement other community initiatives, and move towards organizational transformation.
-Applicants should gather information on the need for federal assistance, including layoff and furlough information,
unemployment rates, etc., as well as prepare current budgetary information, such as current and projected entry-level
officer salary and benefits, as early in the process as possible.
-Applicants should secure local approvals before submitting applications.
-Before submitting applications, candidates should determine if their agencies can meet the local cash match and
federal share requirements or whether a waiver of the local cash match will be requested based on severe fiscal distress .
-The COPS Office staff may contact applicants to ask questions regarding the submitted data . Applicants should
promptly respond to inquiries, and have a back-up to respond if the applicant is not in the office.
-Applicants should print and keep copies of their applications.
-Grant writers are not required for CHP applications. The applications are designed for the law enforcement
community.
-The application process is competitive. Last year, 10% of applicants were funded. However, any interested party
should apply in FY 2013, in order to ensure consideration in FY 2014.
-Each applicant entity must ensure that it has the necessary processes and systems in place to comply with applicable
reporting requirements should it receive funding.
Additional Consideration:
-Hiring military veterans is not a grant requirement under 2013 CHP; however, applicants who commit to taking active
steps to recruit, hire, and deploy at least one military veteran under FY 2013 CHP will receive additional consideration
for ClIP funding . A military veteran is defined as an individual who has served on active duty at any time in the armed
service for a period of more than 180 consecutive days, any part of which occurred on or after September 11, 2001, and
who has been discharge or released from active duty in the armed forces under honorable conditions.
-Additional consideration will be given for applicants who indicate that the officer positions requested will be deployed
as School Resource Officers (SRO) . Applicants who choose to do so must choose the "School Based Policing through
School Resource Officers" problem area in Section 6B of the online application. Applicants who choose this problem
area will not be able to change it post-award. Applicants who do so must deploy their entire officer request as SROs.
All agencies that receive an award for SROs will be required to submit an MOD that details the roles and
responsibilities of the SRO.
Helpful Resources:
-For additional information on the CHP application process, visit the COPS Office website at: www.cops.usdoj.gov.
For questions, call the COPS Office Response Center at: 1-800-421-6770.
Copyright © NAPO 2013. All rights reserved .
Last Updated (Sunday, 21 April 2013 11:02)
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The State of New York last week passed sweeping new state level legislation that greatly restricts the ability to own or
carry certain firearms in that state . Regrettably, the Governor and the proponents of this legislation, in their haste to
push this law though the State Assembly, failed to take into account the legitimate needs of active and retired law
enforcement officers to defend themselves and the public. NAPO worked with its New York groups, particularly the
NYPD Detectives Endowment Association, while this bill was in the works, in an effort to prevent the new law from
harming police officers, but those efforts unfortunately failed. A question then arises, as to whether or not the federal
Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act (18 U.S.c. §§ 926B et seq.) (commonly known as "H.R. 218" from its
original Bill number) provides protection for active and/or retired officers who are in New York State.
It is important to note that the federal law, H.R. 218, DOES provide SOME protection for officers, both active and
retired. This is because the federal law applies "Notwithstanding any other provision of the law of any State or any
political subdivision thereof .. ." (18 U.S.C. §926B(a» HOWEVER, that protection is LIMITED by the terms of the
federal statute , as far as what is covered. Thus, when an officer (active or retired) carries a firearm pursuant to the
terms of H.R. 218, the FIREARM its self is protected, (18 U.S.c. §926B(e)(1» as well as any AMMUNITION not
prohibited by FEDERAL law (18 U.S.C. §926B(e)(2» So, for example, hollow points are O.K., even if the locality
normally prohibits them. BUT the language of H.R. 218 is silent as to MAGAZINES. And thus provides no
protection under federal law for state or local officers or deputies who wish to rely on it to overcome regulations
like the new New York law which prohibits magazines of greater than 7 rounds capacity. (See 18 U.S.c. §927,
Effect on State Law) Also, it is important to remember that even under H.R. 218, the right to carry a firearm is not
universal. H.R. 218 overrides State and Local laws, not federal ones , so it gives no right to carry a firearm on a
commercial airliner, for example. Also, H.R. 218 by its own terms "shall not be construed to supersede or limit the
laws of any State that- (1) permit private persons or entities to prohibit or restrict the possession of concealed firearms
on their property; or (2) prohibit or restrict the possession of firearms on any State or local government property,
installation, building, base, or park." (18 U.S.c. §926B(b» So a local government can still I control the right to carry on
its own local governmental property (as opposed to public spaces), and a private citizen or shopkeeper can still control
who can carry on his or her own private property.
Last Updated (Saturday, 09 March 2013 13:12)
Each day, more than 900,000 federal, state , and local law enforcement officers put their lives on the line to keep our
communities safe. Tragically, sometimes the unthinkable happens and a police officer is injured or killed in the line of
duty by a violent criminal. In such instances, the quick dissemination of important, time-sensitive information about
suspected criminals is essential to keeping our communities safe.
The National Blue Alert Act will encourage, enhance and integrate blue alert plan s throughout the United States in
order to effectively disseminate information notifying law enforcement, media and the public that a suspect is wanted
in connection with an attack on a law enforcement officer.
A growing number of states (now 18) have established a Blue Alert system. However, there is no national Blue Alert
system, nor is there a federal official designated to coordinate the Blue Alert program and share best practices among
states. Specifically, the National Blue Alert Act of2013 directs the Department of Justice to:
• Establish a national Blue Alert communications network within the Department of Justice (DOJ) to disseminate
information when a law enforcement officer is seriously injured or killed in the line of duty, in coordination
with federal, state, and local Blue Alert plans.
• Assign an existing DOJ officer to act as the national coordinator ofthe Blue Alert communications network.
This coordinator will, among other things: o Provide assistance to states and local governments that are using Blue Alert plans ;
o Establish voluntary guidelines for states and local governments to use in developing such plans;
o Ensure compliance with privacy laws and civil liberties protections;
o Develop protocols for efforts to apprehend suspects;
o Work with states to ensure appropriate regional coordination of various elements of the network;
o Act as the nationwide point of contact for the development of the network and the regional coordination
of Blue Alerts through the network; and
o Determine and share what procedures and best practices are in use for notifying law enforcement and the
public when a law enforcement officer is killed or seriously injured in the line of duty
Please monitor NAPO's website www.napo.org, and Facebook page: National Association of Police Organizations, and
follow us on Twitter at NAPOpolice for breaking news and updates.
The State of New York last week passed sweeping new state level legislation that greatly restricts the ability to own or
carry certain firearms in that state. Regrettably, the Governor and the proponents of this legislation, in their haste to
push this law though the State Assembly, failed to take into account the legitimate needs of active and retired law
enforcement officers to defend themselves and the public. NAPO worked with its New York groups, particularly the
NYPD Detectives Endowment Association, while this bill was in the works, in an effort to prevent the new law from
harming police officers, but those efforts unfortunately failed. A question then arises, as to whether or not the federal
Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act (18 U.S.C. §§ 926B et seq.) (commonly known as "H.R. 218" from its
original Bill number) provides protection for active and/or retired officers who are in New York State.
It is important to note that the federal law, H.R. 218, DOES provide SOME protection for officers, both active and
retired. This is because the federal law applies "Notwithstanding any other provision of the law of any State or any
political subdivision thereof ..." (18 U.S.C. §926B(a)) HOWEVER, that protection is LIMITED by the terms of the
federal statute, as far as what is covered. Thus , when an officer (active or retired ) carries a firearm pursuant to the
terms ofH.R. 218, the FIREARM itself is protected, (18 U.S.C. §926B(e)(1)) as well as any AMMUNITION not
prohibited by FEDERAL law (18 U.S.c. §926B(e)(2)) So, for example, hollow points are O.K., even ifthe locality
normally prohibits them. BUT the language of H.R. 218 is silent as to MAGAZINES. And thus provides no
protection under federal law for state or local officers or deputies who wish to rely on it to overcome regulations
like the new New York law which prohibits magazines of greater than 7 rounds capacity. (See 18 U.S.C. §927,
Effect on State Law) Also, it is important to remember that even under H.R. 218, the right to carry a firearm is not
universal. I-I.R. 218 overrides State and Local laws, not federal ones, so it gives no right to carry a firearm on a
commercial airliner, for example. Also , H.R. 218 by its own terms "shall not be construed to supersede or limit the
laws of any State that- (1) permit private persons or entities to prohibit or restrict the possession of concealed firearms
on their property; or (2) prohibit or restrict the possession of firearms on any State or local government property,
installation, building, base, or park." (18 U.S.c. §926B(b) So a local government can still control the right to carry on
its own local governmental property (as opposed to public spaces), and a private citizen or shopkeeper can still control
who can carry on his or her own private property.
Please monitor NAPO's website www.napo .org, and Facebook page: National Association of Police Organizations, and
follow us on Twitter at NAPO police for breaking news and updates. Last Updated (Saturday, 02 February 2013 13:06)
NAPOs Special Edition Election 2012 click here
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