Community Policing Development (CPD) Accreditation Program

Cooperative agreements with USA and territories IHEs, nonprofit and for-profit organizations, law enforcement agencies, and other government agencies for projects to increase law enforcement agency accreditation. Applicants are advised that required registrations may take several weeks to complete.
The 2021 CPD program has been established to fund specific projects related to the following subcategory areas:Addressing Gaps in State Accreditation: The COPS Office seeks to establish accreditation entities in the 14 states that currently do not have any accreditation mechanism by providing funding to assist in the establishment of new state accreditation programs. Applicants should demonstrate why the applicant organization is best positioned to manage accreditation in that state and outline their plan to establish a mechanism that is supported by state chiefs’ and sheriffs’ associations (for example through a resolution or memorandum of understanding [MOU]). Applicants should develop a strategy that is customized for their local needs and supports their law enforcement agencies and the communities they serve and a plan for how to promote the importance of accreditation in their state. Applicants should also put an emphasis on ensuring accessibility for small and rural agencies.Enhancing Existing Law Enforcement Accreditation Entities: The COPS Office seeks to support and enhance existing law enforcement accreditation bodies to facilitate law enforcement agencies’ ability to become accredited. Applicants should develop a multifaceted approach by focusing on activities such as providing technical assistance to agencies, defraying or underwriting accreditation costs, investing in a better infrastructure for accreditation processes, improving customer service, expanding access, reducing costs, and developing user-friendly accreditation templates. The applicant should emphasize on ensuring accessibility for small and rural agencies and indicate the number of agencies that should successfully achieve accreditation as a result of the project.Supporting Tribal Agency Accreditation: The COPS Office seeks an existing accreditation entity to work to improve the access of accreditation services for tribal law enforcement. This applicant must demonstrate experience and capabilities with working with tribal law enforcement agencies and describe pre-existing levels of collaboration with tribal agencies. This entity should work with tribal agencies to deliver and tailor existing accreditation standards and processes that are appropriate for tribal law enforcement agencies. The entity should pilot this model with a minimum of four tribal agencies and assess the results of the pilot. The entity should provide all materials developed to assist tribal law enforcement agencies including any resources, standard templates, and checklists to assist other accreditation bodies with replication.Supporting Law Enforcement Agencies in Seeking Accreditation: Under this category, the COPS Office will fund costs related to obtaining accreditation from an existing law enforcement accreditation entity. These awards will fund activities including sworn officer salaries, civilian employee salaries, sworn officer overtime, contracts for staff, accreditation fees, and costs associated with internal training for personnel as well as any other expenses directly related to an agency’s ability to successfully obtain accreditation.For further program details, seehttps://cops.usdoj.gov/pdf/2021AwardDocs/cpd_accreditation/solicitation.pdf#page=7.