Central Falls, Gun Crime, Rhode Island 2024

PROVIDENCE – In a move to combat the growing epidemic of gun crime in Rhode Island, the City of Central Falls has been awarded nearly $1.2 million in grant funding through the Justice Department’s Office of Community Policing Services (COPS Office) Cops Hiring Program (CHP), according to a statement from United States Attorney Zachary A. Cunha.

The COPS Office, a federal component of the Justice Department established in 1994, provides grants and resources to law enforcement agencies nationwide to reduce crime and build trust between law enforcement and the communities they serve. The $1.2 million award to Central Falls is part of $139 million in direct funding from the COPS Program to hire additional law enforcement professionals across the country.

Central Falls is one of just 180 law enforcement agencies selected to share in the funding, with nearly half of the agencies using the funds to focus on building legitimacy and trust between law enforcement and communities. The remaining agencies, including Central Falls, will use the funds to address high rates of gun violence, focus on other areas of violence, or combat hate and domestic extremism or support police-based responses to persons in crisis.

Alongside the COPS Office grant, the Rhode Island Department of Public Safety has been awarded $84,187 in support of the Department of Justice’s Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program, which aims to reduce gun crime and serious violence in the district.

“As law enforcement agencies across the nation continue to experience recruitment and retention challenges, we are proud to provide these resources to help alleviate those challenges confronting the profession,” said COPS Office Acting Director Robert Chapman.

“Reducing violence and sustaining those reductions will require strong partnerships between criminal justice agencies and community stakeholders and a shared commitment to the safety and well-being of every community member,” added OJP Deputy Assistant Attorney General Maureen Henneberg.

The COPS Office is the only federal agency with policing in its name and has been a cornerstone of the nation’s crime fighting strategy since its establishment in 1994. The office provides a range of resources, including grants, training, and technical assistance, to support law enforcement agencies in their efforts to reduce crime and build trust with the communities they serve.

The Project Safe Neighborhoods Program, which has been in operation for two decades, aims to provide a community-oriented response to serious gun crime and has been successful in reducing violence in districts across the country.

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