St. Pete Police gets $3.1 million to hire officers
June 3, 2020 - The U.S. Department of Justice awarded $3.125 million to the St. Petersburg Police Department. The police department will be able to hire 25 officers with the grant funding. The grant was awarded through the Justice Department’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services COPS Hiring Program, according to a news release from the office of the U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Florida. “Community policing is an effective tool in reducing crime in our neighborhoods, building relationships of mutual trust and accountability, and implementing successful prevention and intervention strategies,” U.S. Attorney Maria Chapa Lopez said in the news release.