Rep. Sykes Announces Over $1 Million for Local Law Enforcement
U.S. Representative Emilia Sykes (OH-13) announced the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) awarded multiple grants totaling $1,056,640 to communities in Ohio’s 13th Congressional District to hire and retain law enforcement officers and support community policing.
“I’m excited to announce over $1 million in Community Oriented Policing funding will be coming back to Ohio’s 13th Congressional District. These vital grants will be used to improve the safety of our communities, hire more experienced and responsible officers, and continue rebuilding trust between law enforcement and the people they serve,” said Rep. Sykes. “As a co-lead of bipartisan legislation to expand the COPS Hiring Program, I’ll continue working diligently across the aisle to ensure our law enforcement agencies and officers have the resources they need to serve our communities safely and effectively.”
Investments from the COPS Hiring Program include:
- $250,000 to the City of Barberton to hire 2 new law enforcement officers;
- $625,000 to the City of Canton to hire 5 new law enforcement officers.
Investments from the Community Policing Development Program include:
- $56,640 to the City of Canton for building trust and legitimacy with the community.
Investments from the COPS Office Technology and Equipment Program include:
- $125,000 to Stark County for technology upgrades.
“The City of Barberton is excited to receive funding from the 2024 COPS Hiring Program. This will assist the city in hiring two officers and keeping our community safe. Thank you to my staff including the Barberton Police Department, Chief Morber, and Lieutenant Lynn, and to Congresswoman Emilia Sykes for advocating for our Police Department and helping to keep our community safe,” said Barberton Mayor William Judge.
In May 2023, Rep. Sykes partnered with Reps. Greg Landsman (OH-01), Mike Carey (OH-15), and Max Miller (OH-07) to introduce the Enhancing COPS Hiring Program Grants for Local Law Enforcement Act – endorsed by the Small & Rural Law Enforcement Executives Association – which would expand the COPS Hiring Program to allow local law enforcement agencies to utilize the grants for recruitment and retention bonuses, and also modify the program to allow grant applications for COPS Hiring Program grants to be valid for five years, instead of the current one year, to reduce costs and administrative burdens associated with the annual applications.
While serving as House Minority Leader at the Ohio Statehouse, Rep. Sykes led the introduction of a comprehensive police reform plan that would have restored accountability, modernized use-of-force standards and tackled racial bias in policing. The plan included legislation to require annual training in de-escalation, first aid, and mental health crises.