Washington, D.C. - The U.S. Department of Justice Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) today awarded $15.1 million in grants to support its national network of Regional Community Policing Institutes (RCPI). The RCPIs are strategically located throughout the country to address the community policing and crime prevention training needs of law enforcement agencies and communities in all 50 states and Puerto Rico.

The grants awarded today will be used by the RCPIs to administer training programs that enhance integrity practices and policies within law enforcement agencies, further trust and cooperation between police and citizens, and emphasize homeland security and emergency response planning. Since the RCPIs were created in 1997, more than 280,000 law enforcement personnel, community members, and government leaders have been trained. As appropriate, law enforcement and community representatives often attend the training together, providing a forum in which law enforcement and community members can discuss sensitive issues in detail, and gain insight into the other’s perspective.

"The Regional Community Policing Institutes are an excellent resource for providing national and region specific community policing training to law enforcement and citizens throughout the country," said COPS Director Carl R. Peed. "As the nation’s law enforcement agencies seek more effective methods for protecting our citizens from crime and the threat of terrorism, comprehensive and relevant community policing training is of vital importance."

RCPIs develop and offer training on critical law enforcement issues to officers, criminal justice practitioners, local government officials, and business and community leaders. The training is delivered using adult-learning principles and is often tailored to reflect the prominent public safety issues within the region that the training is being offered. RCPIs also work directly with law enforcement agencies to develop and offer customized training programs.

In addition to the RCPIs, COPS provides law enforcement agencies with an array of community policing training and technical assistance resources. Since 1994, COPS has made grants to more than 13,000 state and local law enforcement agencies to hire over 118,000 community policing officers, investing more than $10.6 billion nationwide.

For information on the Regional Community Policing Institute that serves your area, please visit www.cops.usdoj.gov.