Cathedral City has been awarded an estimated $840,138 from the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) through the agency's COPS Hiring Recovery Program. The grant, which is part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, will enable the City to hire three police officer positions for a three year period. The grant awards were announced by Vice President Joseph Biden and US Attorney General Eric Holder

Competition for the grants was intense. 7,272 agencies applied for the grant nationwide. An award was given to 109 of the 357 California agencies who applied, or about 30%. Nationally, only 12% of all applications received funding.

Including this grant, Cathedral City has been successful in obtaining $2 million in federal stimulus funds. The City has made application for an additional $47 million, however these applications are still pending.

"With recent State financial take-backs from cities, Cathedral City is facing major challenges to continue to provide vital services - including public safety. The COPS funding, along with the other grants received by the city will support the manpower needed to fight crime effectively in our community," said City Manager Don Bradley.

"The Cathedral City Police Department truly appreciates the Department of Justice COPS grant - particularly in these hard economic times. This funding helps our Police Department meet its mission of keeping our community safe," Police Chief Stan Henry said.