Governor Josh Shapiro has announced help for communities who are trying to maintain fully staffed police departments
The PA Commission on Crime and Delinquency says it's providing grants of up to $7,000 per new officer to help cover training costs.
The $14 million grant is expected to help communities, universities and others hire up to 2,000 new police officers in Pennsylvania.
The funding is open to local law enforcement, campus and university police, railroad or street railway police, airport authority police and county park police.
“Creating safe communities starts with ensuring our local police departments are well-staffed, well-funded, well-trained, and well-equipped,” said Governor Josh Shapiro. “Worker shortages are one of the biggest challenges facing our Commonwealth, and 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.”