Today, Congressman Henry Cuellar (D-TX-28) announced $1 million in grant funding from the U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office), COPS Hiring Program (CHP), to the City of Mission Police Department.
With these funds, the police department will increase their community policing capacity and crime prevention efforts by hiring eight new law enforcement officers, bringing the total number of police officers to 157.

The new officers will be hired from multiple sources, including already-certified police who would immediately start work, as well as new recruits who will attend a six-month police academy.

This grant is part of a $119 million investment in law enforcement nation-wide through the CHP. The Fiscal Year 2016 CHP was designed to advance public safety through community policing by addressing the full-time sworn officer needs of state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies nationwide.

Since 1994, COPS has awarded over $14 billion nation-wide, providing funding to more than 13,000 of the nation’s 16,000 law enforcement agencies, and has trained more than 700,000 policing professionals and community leaders.

This year, the DOJ gave additional consideration to police departments that focused on addressing specific community policing problems, such as building community trust and collaborations with schools.

“I congratulate Mayor Salinas and Police Chief Dominguez on their great work to serve and protect the people of Mission,” said Congressman Henry Cuellar. “The Mission Police Department has built strong ties with our community through successful outreach and education programs. Today’s $1 million grant from the Department of Justice will help continue that tradition and build trust in the community while enhancing policing activities.”