PENNSYLVANIA — The Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency (PCCD) announced on Friday the availability of grant funding aimed at supporting the recruitment of approximately 2,000 new full-time law enforcement officers throughout the Commonwealth.
This initiative seeks to address one of the most pressing workforce challenges currently facing Pennsylvania – the severe hiring shortage of police officers. The move is part of a broader effort to bolster law enforcement capabilities, improve public safety, and address worker shortages in critical sectors.
“Creating safe communities starts with ensuring our local police departments are well-staffed, well-funded, well-trained, and well-equipped,” said Governor Josh Shapiro. “My Administration is taking action to help our municipalities hire and retain thousands of new police officers. As state troopers are being asked to do more due to local police shortages around the state, we must ensure our law enforcement partners have the tools, the manpower, and the flexibility to succeed and keep our communities safe.”
The solicitation is open to various law enforcement agencies, including local police departments, campus or university police, railroad or street railway police, airport authority police, and county park police. The funding is intended to support Act 120 training and recruitment activities for law enforcement officers. Act 120 is a mandatory training program for municipal police officers in Pennsylvania, provided through the Municipal Police Officers’ Education and Training Commission (MPOETC).
Lt. Gov. Austin Davis, chair of PCCD, underscored the importance of this initiative, stating, “Every Pennsylvanian deserves to feel safe in their communities, and making sure communities have enough police officers on the beat is a key component for public safety. Through this funding, we hope to fill gaps within the law enforcement workforce to help make communities safer for all Pennsylvanians.”
The funding is sourced from the Local Law Enforcement Support (LLES) Grant Program, established under Act 54 of 2022. Eligible law enforcement agencies that do not cover the costs of Act 120 training can request up to $7,000 per new officer to support costs associated with training. Agencies that currently hire officers already Act 120 trained or those that cover training costs can apply for up to $5,000 per new officer to support stipends, signing bonuses, or marketing efforts.
Priority consideration will be given to law enforcement agencies serving areas with high rates of violent crime and who have low clearance rates for violent crimes.
The solicitation will remain open to eligible law enforcement agencies until all funding is committed. Awards will be announced on a rolling basis as applications are considered. For more information on funding requirements and the application process, interested parties should visit PCCD’s active funding announcements webpage.
This announcement marks a significant step in Pennsylvania’s ongoing efforts to address staffing shortages in law enforcement and improve public safety across the Commonwealth.
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