Contact: Sammy McDavid
The Mississippi State University Police Department is getting some major support from the federal COPS program.
Last week, 3rd District Rep. Chip Pickering (R-Miss.) notified Police Chief Tom Johnson that campus law enforcement soon will receive a $179,560 U.S. Justice Department grant.
Provided through Justice's Community Oriented Policing Services--COPS--the money will help Johnson cover salaries and benefits in hiring additional officers. Specifically, MSU's allocation is to be spread among two full- and two part-time positions.
Announced Feb. 16, four COPS grants to Mississippi total more than $358,000. "These grants are made for up to 75 percent of the total salary and benefits of each officer over three years," Pickering said.
Johnson said the new officers would be assigned to the university's residence halls once their training is complete.
"They will be part of a new program we have designed to emphasize crime prevention, education and enforcement for residence hall students," he added.
MSU's grant is the largest of the four. The others include the towns of Metcalf, $78,159; Sumner, $55,058; and Tishomingo, $45,236.
Proposed by President Clinton and passed by Congress in the 1994 crime bill, COPS has the goal of adding 100,000 additional police officers to the nation's streets by next year.