In a letter to Governor Benigno R. Fitial and DPS Commissioner Santiago Tudela, David M. Buchanan, the Acting Director of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS), informed the CNMI government that it has been awarded a grant of $519,048.00. The grant award will fund the hiring of nine DPS police officers for a three-year period.
In his State of the Commonwealth Address on May 27 of this year, Governor Benigno R. Fitial mentioned the CNMI’s pending grant application for the COPS program under the Department of Justice, which will provide the CNMI with additional law enforcement personnel to more adequately meet the CNMI’s public safety needs.
“I thank the staff at the Department of Public Safety for working with our Commerce Department to successfully secure this grant for the CNMI,” said Governor Fitial.
The Governor noted that this second successful competitive grant award follows the Division of Environmental Quality’s successful competitive grant application for federal stimulus funds.
The CNMI Division of Environmental Quality was recently awarded a grant of nearly $3 million to protect coral reefs around the Laolao Bay area. The grant was awarded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in Washington D.C.
“This Administration is making meaningful progress on federal stimulus funding,” said Fitial.
In his letter to Governor Fitial, Acting Director Buchanan said: “I am pleased to inform you that your department will receive a COPS Hiring Recovery Program (CHRP) grant award for 9 officer positions. The estimated amount of federal funds to be awarded to your jurisdiction over the three-year grant period is $519,048.00. Your agency may now begin hiring or rehiring officers to fill CHRP grant-funded positions.”
Fitial has directed DPS to meet all grant requirements and hire additional law enforcement personnel from this grant award.
“With more police officers on patrol, the CNMI government will be better able to keep our families and communities safe,” said Fitial.
