Fairfield County Council gave the “go ahead” to Chief Deputy Keith Lewis at their March 16 worksession for the submission of a grant application under the COPS program.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 allocates $1 billion to the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) for the COPS Hiring Recovery Program (CHRP).

Approximately 5,500 additional sworn law enforcement officers will be added to agencies across the country through funding provided by this program.

The grant program will be open to law enforcement agencies nationwide.

Through COPS, the government pays most of the salaries and benefits of new hires in their first three years on the job.

The grant can be used to hire new officers or rehire those that have been laid off or are scheduled to be let go.

Communities that get the money must pledge to keep the position filled at least another year after the grant ends.

Lewis will be requesting funding for four additional deputies under the grant which will provide one additional deputy per shift.

Council and the Sheriff’s Office will continue to search for grants to help with the cost of purchasing equipment and other needed funds in the outfitting of these new deputies.