Hopkinsville Mayor Dan Kemp and Police Chief Guy Howie have been informed that the City’s recent COPS (Community Oriented Policing Services) Grant Application was very successful, as the U.S. Department of Justice has awarded Hopkinsville $667,000 in support of four (4) new patrol officers.  The COPS funding will pay 100% of salaries plus benefits over the next three years for these four positions.

“I think this is a reflection on the Hopkinsville Police Department’s outstanding efforts to focus on community policing, one of the factors we felt vital when we recruited Chief Howie,” said Mayor Kemp today.  “HPD put together an outstanding application package and they have been rewarded in kind.”

Chief Howie stated that the DOJ’s COPS grant was intended to assist police departments in creating and preserving sworn officer positions, to continue community policing programs, and that the recent round of funding took into consideration the economic downturn throughout the country, including in cities similar to Hopkinsville.

“These funds will allow us to recover two (2) patrol positions that were impacted by the recent hiring freeze, plus add two more to the road as we continue to enhance our public safety efforts for our citizens,” Howie said.  “Community Policing is a philosophy that is thriving throughout the country.  It’s a philosophy that helps us establish valuable relationships with groups like neighborhood associations in the inner-city, with the school system, with all of our businesses and agencies in the community.”

According to the DOJ website, Community Policing is defined as the promotion of organizational strategies, which support the systematic use of partnerships and problem-solving techniques, to proactively address the immediate conditions that give rise to public safety issues such as crime, social disorder, and the fear of crime.