Salem Police Department Awarded Federal Grant

Salem and only two other agencies in Oregon will receive COPS grants

Salem Police Department

(SALEM, Ore.) - On Thursday, the Salem Police Department learned that it was receiving $1,076,832 from the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS). The grant will pay for the salary, benefits, and equipment to hire four police officers for a three year period. The program is designed to help agencies meet their community policing goals. The City of Salem, one of 4,590 applicants nationwide, is very proud of the award and the benefit it will provide to the citizens of Salem.

In response to the award, Mayor Janet Taylor said, "We are extremely pleased to receive this grant. In tough economic times, the ability to hire additional police officers is extremely rare and we feel fortunate to receive this grant and we give our thanks to Senator Wyden and his staff for their continued support of this community."

Salem Police Chief Jerry Moore was also pleased with the award. "It is always a challenge to have enough cops on the street, and this grant assists us greatly in that endeavor."

Salem City Council authorized applying for a Federal COPS Grant two years ago, but Salem was not selected at that time. The Police Department reapplied several months ago and was notified today that their application had been approved.

Only two other agencies in Oregon will receive COPS grants.

• The Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fisheries Enforcement will receive $231,578.
• The City of Prineville will receive $253,560.