City of Camden Recieves $3.8 Million Grant for Public Safety Jobs

Camden, NJ – Congressman Rob Andrews joined Mayor Dana L. Redd and Senator Robert Menendez earlier this week to announce that the City of Camden received $3,794,966 in COPS Hiring Program (CHP) grant funding to rehire 14 Camden police officers.

Designed to bolster community policing and crime prevention efforts, the CHP competitive grant program provides state and local law enforcement agencies with much-needed relief so that they can hire and sustain full-time officers without burdening taxpayers or their current operating budget.  CHP grants are administered by the U.S. Department of Justice and provide 100 percent funding for approved entry-level salaries and fringe 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 future date as a result of local budget cuts.

“We are pleased to announce that with these new federal dollars, we can bring back 14 more brave officers to patrol the streets of Camden and make the City a safer place to live, study and do business,” Congressman Andrews said.  “With these rehired officers, we are more than half way to restoring the public safety layoffs and we will continue to fight to get Camden the resources needed to rebuild its force and achieve stability.”

“Being able to rehire an additional 14 police officers with this new round of the federal COPS grant is truly welcomed news for Camden,” Mayor Redd said.  “This new COPS grant will help restore confidence to our residents and businesses.  The City is thankful for the continued support and advocacy from Senators Menendez and Lautenberg and Congressman Andrews.”

“This is great news for the Camden City Police Department which has been struggling with budget cuts and layoffs, even as they work as hard as ever to keep us safe,” Senator Menendez said.  “We have an obligation to support our police and I’m so pleased this critical funding is on the way.”

For more information regarding the CHP, please visit the U.S. Department of Justice website at www.cops.usdoj.gov/.

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