2006 Minnesota Statutes

299A.62 COMMUNITY-ORIENTED POLICING (COPS) GRANT PROGRAM.
    Subdivision 1. Program established. (a) A community-oriented policing grant program is
established under the administration of the commissioner of public safety.
(b) Grants may be awarded as provided in subdivision 2 for the following purposes:
(1) to enable local law enforcement agencies to hire law enforcement officers. The grants
must be used by law enforcement agencies to increase the complement of officers in the agency
by paying the salaries of new officers who replace an existing officer who has been reassigned
primarily to investigate and prevent juvenile crime or to perform community-oriented policing
duties;
(2) to enable local law enforcement agencies to assign overtime officers to high crime areas
within their jurisdictions; and
(3) to enable local law enforcement agencies to implement or expand community-oriented
policing projects, liaison efforts with local school districts, and other innovative community
policing initiatives.
    Subd. 2. Awarding grant. Grants under this section shall be awarded by the commissioner
of public safety. Before any grants are awarded, a committee consisting of the attorney general,
and representatives from the Minnesota Chiefs of Police Association, the Minnesota Sheriffs
Association, and the Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association, shall evaluate the grant
applications. Before grants are awarded, the commissioner shall meet and consult with the
committee concerning its evaluation of and recommendations on grant proposals. A grant under
subdivision 1, paragraph (b), clause (1), may be awarded only to a law enforcement agency that
demonstrates in its application that it currently has a need for an additional officer to be assigned
to: (1) community-oriented policing duties; or (2) the investigation and prevention of juvenile
crime, based on the juvenile crime rate in the area over which the agency has jurisdiction. More
than one grant under subdivision 1, paragraph (b), clause (1), may be awarded to an agency;
however, each grant may fund only one position. At least 50 percent of the grants awarded under
subdivision 1, paragraph (b), clause (1), must be awarded to the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul.
    Subd. 3. Amount of grant to hire officer. A grant awarded under subdivision 1, paragraph
(b), clause (1), must reimburse up to 150 percent of the entry level salary and benefits of a law
enforcement officer, not to exceed $75,000. However, the money may not be used to pay for
equipment or uniforms for the officer. The grant is intended to be used for the salary of the
officer over a three-year period.
    Subd. 4. Conditions of grant to hire officer. (a) Grant recipients who receive grants under
subdivision 1, paragraph (b), clause (1), shall continue to employ a law enforcement officer hired
with money granted under this section for at least a three-year period. If for any reason during the
three-year period the employment relationship ends, the agency shall hire an additional officer so
that the total number of officers employed by the agency does not change.
(b) A law enforcement agency that fails to comply with this subdivision shall reimburse the
commissioner as follows:
(1) if the failure occurs during the first year, the agency shall reimburse the full amount of
the grant;
(2) if the failure occurs during the second year, the agency shall reimburse two-thirds
of the grant; or
(3) if the failure occurs during the third year but prior to the three-year anniversary of the
officer's hiring, the agency shall reimburse one-third of the grant.
The commissioner shall deposit the reimbursement in the state treasury and credit it to the general
fund.
History: 1996 c 408 art 2 s 6; 1999 c 216 art 2 s 13