TALLAHASSEE, FL (WTXL) - The Tallahassee Police Department has received a grant that will allow them to hire 15 new police officers.
The COPS Hiring Program from the Department of Justice will provide TPD with $1,875,000 to hire the officers.
TPD says the funds will allow them to fund the 15 officers for 3 years and that the officers will be placed on two "non-traditional" squads. Those officers will make up a Community Oriented Policing Squad and a Violent Crime Response Team.
"In putting together our strategies to address crime, the City Commission has tentatively approved 18 officers in the upcoming budget and this grant will add 15 more officers which will make a substantial difference in getting ahead of this issue," says Chief DeLeo.
According to TPD, a police officer's starting salary is $45,192 but the grant would only pay for $41,667 of an officers yearly salary. If acceptance of the grant is approved, the city would need to find the additional money to make up the pay gap.
The grant also requires matching funds, "...and a cap that will require the city to pay for salary and benefit costs over the amount provided by the grant," according to TPD.
Tallahassee was one of almost 200 law enforcement agencies to receive grant funding.
"The COPS Office is pleased to assist local law enforcement agencies throughout the country in addressing their most critical public safety issues. Funding from this year's program will allow many cities and counties to apply new sworn personnel to issues related to violent crime, school safety, and building trust within their communities," said COPS Office Director Ronald L. Davis in a press release.
