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###### Department of Justice

# AGENCY:

Office of Community Oriented Policy Services, Department of Justice.

# ACTION:

Notice of availability. 

# SUMMARY:

The Department of Justice, Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (“COPS”) announces the availability of Universal Hiring Program (UHP) grants to pay up to 75 percent of the total salary and benefits for new officers over three years, and up to a maximum of $75,000 per officer, with the remainder to be paid by state or local funds. To qualify for funding, officers must be hired on or after the grant award start date. Funding will begin once the new officers have been hired or on the date of the award, whichever is later, and will be paid over the course of the grant. All policing agencies, as well as jurisdictions seeking to establish new policing agencies, are eligible to apply for this program.

# DATES:

Application deadline for UHP is May 31, 2000. Applications must be postmarked by the deadline date. Additional application deadline dates may be announced later and are subject to available funding. If additional funding is available, applications postmarked after the deadline date may be carried over to the next funding period. Unlike previous fiscal years, funding is limited under the Universal Hiring Program. Because funding is limited, we encourage you to apply early. If your agency previously was awarded funding under the Universal Hiring Program, you may request additional officers at any time.

# ADDRESSES:

To obtain a copy of an application or for more information, call the U.S. Department of Justice Response Center at (202) 307-1480 or 1-800-421-6770.

# FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

The U.S. Department of Justice Response Center, (202) 307-1480 or 1-800-421-6770. The UHP application and information on the COPS Office are also available on the Internet via the COPS web site at: http://www.usdoj.gov/​cops.

# SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

## Overview

The Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 (Pub. L. 103-322) authorizes the Department of Justice to make grants to increase deployment of law enforcement officers devoted to community policing on the streets and rural routes in this nation. The Universal Hiring Program (UHP) enables interested agencies to supplement their current sworn forces, or interested jurisdictions to establish a new agency, through Federal grants for up to three years. All policing agencies, as well as jurisdictions seeking to establish new policing agencies, are eligible to apply for this program.

Grants will be made for up to 75 percent of the total salary and benefits for each new officer over three years, and up to a maximum of $75,000 per officer, with the remainder to be paid by state or local funds. Funding will begin once the new officers have been hired or on the date of the award, whichever is later, and will be paid over the course of the grant. Officers must be hired after the grant award start date to qualify for grant funding.

Waivers of the non-Federal matching requirement may be requested under UHP, but will be granted only upon a showing of extraordinary fiscal hardship.

COPS grant funds must not be used to replace funds that eligible agencies otherwise would have devoted to officer hiring in the absence of the grant. In other words, any hiring under UHP must be in addition to, and not in lieu of, officers that otherwise would have been hired. All grant recipients must develop a written plan to retain their COPS-funded officer positions after Federal funding has ended. This plan must be submitted to the COPS Office with your application.

In hiring additional officers under the UHP, agencies may not reduce the scope of their customary screening and training procedures, and must include community policing principles in their training curricula.

An award under the COPS Universal Hiring Program will not affect the consideration of an agency's eligibility for a grant under other COPS programs.

The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) reference for this program is 16.710.

Dated: April 21, 2000.

Thomas Frazier,

Director.

[FR Doc. 00-11369 Filed 5-5-00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4410-AT-M