JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The City of Jacksonville and the City of Starke were awarded grants from the U.S. Department of Justice to create or preserve police officer jobs.
Jacksonville will receive $1.875 million and Starke will get $250,000. The DOJ COPS Hiring Program grants were awarded to a total of 212 agencies across the country, including a total of 16 from Florida, according to a release from the DOJ.
"Our police officers put their lives on the line each and every day to protect our communities," said U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson in a statement. "And these grants will give the citizens living in these communities additional law enforcement resources."
In awarding the grants, priority consideration was given to agencies that focus on homicide or gun violence, wanted to deploy school resource officers, hire military veterans or working to build trust between the police and the community.
The grants will provide 75 percent funding for three years' salary for newly hired officers, or for rehired officers who have been laid off, or those who are scheduled to be laid off. Grants to be awarded across the country will total $121.4 million.
WJAX
