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 Mt. Vernon, NY - Mayor Clinton I. Young, Jr., Police Commissioner David Chong, on behalf of the City of Mount Vernon are pleased to announce that the Mount Vernon Police Department is the recipient of $1,877,000 to hire ten (10) new police officers.
Vice President Joe Biden and Attorney General Eric Holder have announced $1 billion in grants to fund the hiring and rehiring of law enforcement officers all across the country under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. This grant will be administered through the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) through the federal agency’s COPS Hiring Recovery Program.
“As an ever growing city, this grant will enable the Mount Vernon Police Department to better serve and protect our residents,” said Mayor Clinton I. Young, Jr. “More officers and aggressive outreach are the important elements of a balanced national community policing strategy. My administration has been on top of every opportunity to benefit from stimulus funding, and it’s paying off.”
This grant will provide 100 percent of each officer’s salary and benefits for three full years. On top of that, police departments receiving the grants are required to retain the officer positions for a fourth year.
“This award is so important to the Mount Vernon Police Department. With additional officers on our streets, the entire community can work together to make Mount Vernon a safer neighborhood. We specifically look forward to conducting more community outreach through our successful initiative, Operation PROTECT”, said Police Commissioner David Chong.
Of the 223 police departments in New York State who applied for this grant, only 12 were successfully awarded. The Mount Vernon Police Department is the only New York State recipient in the New York Metropolitan region, including the Lower Hudson Valley and New York City itself.
“It is our progress with our community policing partnerships, individual police officers who have been deployed in various neighborhoods and changing interactions between police and residents that we are most proud of. Of the three criteria that formed the basis of the awarding of the grant, I am especially pleased that we have been recognized on a federal level for our efforts with this community policing” said Police Chief Barbara Duncan.
Attorney General Holder stated that “we received applications from more than 7,200 cities and towns, and made funding decisions based on crime rate, financial need, and community policing activities. The thousands of applications that poured in are indicative of both the tough times our states, cities and tribes are facing and the unyielding commitment by law enforcement to making our communities safer. I’m proud to be a part of an administration that backs up the commitment of our law enforcement community not just with words, but with the resources our partners need.”
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It's only three years until MV initiates a police department personnel reduction program.