Heeding Pappas’s Call to Help Small Police Departments Strengthen Community-Oriented Policing, DOJ Announces Police Accreditation Grant Funding

Washington, D.C. - This week, the Department of Justice Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) announced that $5 million in funding is available to expand accreditation programs and assist agencies with gaining accreditation to ensure compliance with national and international standards covering all aspects of law enforcement policies, procedures, practices, and operations. No less than $1.5 million is to be provided for small and rural law enforcement agencies for this purpose.

"I'm pleased that the Department of Justice has provided funding to help police departments pursue accreditation," said Congressman Chris Pappas. "Too many departments lack the resources to initiate this process. This funding will address that obstacle so local departments can ultimately improve training, raise standards, and implement best practices. I will continue to build bipartisan support for the EAGLE Act in order to authorize the full $10 million in funding for these programs and ensure that more funds are made available specifically for small and mid-sized departments."

Last session, Congressman Chris Pappas (NH-01) introduced legislation to establish a new grant program at the Department of Justice. Congressman Pappas reintroduced this legislation on May 25th of this year. The Establishing Accreditation Grants for Law Enforcement (EAGLE) Act would authorize $10 million in funding for small and mid-sized police departments to earn or renew accreditation from state, regional, tribal or national police accreditation organizations, such as the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA). This legislation would help police departments update their standards and best practices to strengthen accountability, enhance community trust, and improve operational effectiveness.

Only a small fraction of police departments nationwide are accredited, in part because the process can be costly. In response, the EAGLE Act establishes a grant program that small and mid-sized police departments (those with fewer than 350 employees) can utilize to pay for the process of earning accreditation. The bill was the product of a series of conversations between Congressman Pappas, New Hampshire law enforcement officials, and reform advocates around the pressing issue of police reform. All New Hampshire municipal police departments would qualify for these funds.