Washington, DC — Today, Rep. Lucy McBath (GA-07) announced new federal investments in law enforcement coming to Georgia’s Seventh District totaling more than $600,000. The City of Lilburn, the Gwinnett County Board of Education, and the Georgia Association of Chiefs of Police are each receiving separate federal grants to support law enforcement operations, keep our schools safe, and improve community policing programs.
McBath has played an active role in supporting local law enforcement and connecting them to federal resources in Washington. In addition to directly supporting applications for federal funding through her local office, she hosted a Department of Justice grants webinar in March to share key information about program funding and application deadlines for a variety of federal grant opportunities, including the COPS Hiring Program, the School Violence Prevention Program (SVPP), and the Community Policing Development (CPD) Program.
“Families in our community deserve to feel safe and protected, and our law enforcement partners need the tools to effectively do their jobs,” McBath said. “I was proud to voice my support for Lilburn’s grant application, and I am thrilled that all of these investments will empower various law enforcement entities to keep our communities safe. Awards like the ones announced today are why I fought so hard for passage of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act and why I continue to support bipartisan legislative solutions that will prevent senseless tragedies.”
Lilburn Mayor Tim Dunn expressed appreciation for Congresswoman McBath’s assistance in acquiring this grant. City Manager, Jenny Simpkins and Police Chief, Chris Dusik said, “The addition of a second Community Relations officer makes it possible to keep pace with the needs of our growing community.”
The City of Lilburn will receive $125,000 for a COPS Hiring Program Award, the Gwinnett County Board of Education will receive $194,817 for a School Violence Prevention Program Award, and the Georgia Association of Chiefs of Police will receive $300,000 for a Community Policing Development Program Award. At the request of the City of Lilburn, McBath wrote a letter of support to the Department of Justice in April on behalf of the city’s application to the COPS Hiring Program.
The COPS Community Hiring Program is a competitive grant program designed to provide funding directly to law enforcement agencies to hire and/or rehire additional career law enforcement officers in an effort to increase their community policing capacity and crime prevention efforts. With this new award, the City of Lilburn plans to double the size of their Community Outreach Unit.
The School Violence Prevention Program provides funding for coordination with law enforcement, training for local law enforcement officers to prevent student violence against students and themselves, deterrent measures, technology for expedited notification of local law enforcement during an emergency, and other measures providing a significant improvement in security. Up to $53 million was available in 2023, and additional funding was made available through the Bipartisan Safer Community Act to make additional SVPP awards.
The Community Policing Development Program is a competitive grant program designed to advance the practice of community policing by providing guidance on promising practices through the development and testing of innovative strategies; building knowledge about effective practices and outcomes; and supporting new, creative approaches to preventing crime and promoting safe communities. 2023 CPD funding including $11 million in crisis intervention funding, $16 million for de-escalation training, $9 million for accreditation programs, $6 million in COPS microgrants, and $3 million in tolerance, diversity, and anti-bias training.