CRIT police get grant

The Colorado River Indian Tribes Police Department received a $150,624 Community Oriented Policing Services grant for one position. The grant will provide salary for an entry-level officer for a three-year period. The department originally applied for seven positions.

Police departments receiving the grants will then be required to retain the grant funded positions for a fourth year. The grant is part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act's COPS Hiring Recovery Program.

The announcement was made July 28. In Arizona there were 82 agencies applying for the COPS grant and 13 were awarded. Receiving the largest grant in the state was the City of Mesa that received $5,880,725 for 25 officers.

The La Paz County Sheriff's Office wanted to apply for the COPS grants to fund five officers in the outlying areas of the county. At an April 6 meeting with the board of supervisors, the request of application was tabled. The application was for approximately $325,000.

The SO's spokesman Linc Gilbert told the supervisors in the fourth year, it was hoped the salaries of the deputies would be paid by State Lake Improvement Funds. The supervisors noted the positions were needed but at that point in time the county was facing over a $1 million deficit.

According to the July 28 press release, "The funding provides much needed support to state, local and tribal government budgets, and will help the nation's law enforcement agencies add and retain the manpower needed to fight crime more effectively through community policing."