{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.leahy.senate.gov/press/federal-grants-totaling-nearly-600000-to-help-5-vt-communities-hire-new-officers-cops-grants", "Federal Grants Totaling Nearly $600,000 To Help 5 VT Communities Hire New Officers (COPS Grants)", "2017-11-20", "2017", "2017-11", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Patrick Leahy", "L000174", "www.leahy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "11.20.17\n\t\t\t Federal Grants Totaling Nearly $600,000 To Help 5 VT Communities Hire New Officers (COPS Grants) \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tSenator Patrick Leahy Monday announced that five rural Vermont law enforcement agencies will receive a total of nearly $600,000 to help hire new officers through the Department of Justice COPS Hiring Program. The program covers a large portion of the costs that communities face when adding officers to their ranks, thereby supporting the goals of community policing. \u201cThese funds are critical to small law enforcement agencies that would otherwise find it too costly to bring a new officer on board,\u201d said Leahy, a longtime champion of the program who continues to support its funding through his role as Vice Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee. \u201cWith the increase in opioid abuse and its inherent problems, our law enforcement agencies and officers are stretched to their limits. This is the type of federal spending that just makes common sense.\u201d\r\nThe funding provides up to 75 percent of the entry-level salaries and benefits of full-time officers over a three-year period, with a required 25 percent local match. Each of the five Vermont grants will allow the respective departments to hire one new officer.\r\nThe FY 2017 grants include:\r\n \r\nEssex County Sheriff\u2019s Department - $113,169\r\nFranklin County Sheriff\u2019s Department - $93,583\r\nHardwick Police Department - $125,000\r\nOrange County Sheriff\u2019s Department - $125,000\r\nVillage of Winhall Police Department - $125,000\r\n \r\nIn the case of Franklin County, the new funding will help hire a School Resource Officer in Fairfax for grades K-12, according to Franklin County Sheriff Robert Norris.\r\nLeahy said he was pleased that this year\u2019s grant awards would be helping some of the state\u2019s most rural populations, noting, \u201cOur small law enforcement agencies are being asked to do more every day to meet the needs of their communities. \u00a0We know the challenges of illegal drug use hit our small towns just as they do our larger cities, and our law enforcement partners need \u00a0resources to fight this epidemic.\u201d\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\r\nSince the program was signed into law in 1994, COPS Hiring grants have supported hiring more than 130,000 law enforcement officers throughout the country. \u00a0Last year the Burlington Police Department received a $625,000 COPS Hiring grant to help the city hire five additional officers over a three-year period.\u00a0\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t Press Contact \n\t\t\t\tDavid Carle: 202-224-3693\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t  \n\t\n\t\n\t\n  \n\t\n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \t\n    \t\n\t    \t  \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \tNext Article\n\t\t    \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \tPrevious Article", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.leahy.senate.gov/press/federal-grants-totaling-nearly-600000-to-help-5-vt-communities-hire-new-officers-cops-grants"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.8542970754206181, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}