What is the purpose of the LLE Grant Program?

To provide a law enforcement agency with the necessary resources to allow the law enforcement agency to implement information technology improvements, purchase or upgrade equipment, cover nontraditional law enforcement personnel costs, support retention and recruitment efforts, and provide necessary training and cover related expenses.

Who can apply?

Local law enforcement agencies (defined as: "A public agency of a political subdivision having general police powers and charged with making arrests in connection with the enforcement of the criminal or traffic laws"), campus police or university police, railroad or street railway police (e.g., SEPTA police), airport authority police department, and a county park police force (i.e., Westmoreland County Park Police).

How can eligible applicants use the funds?

The funding is limited to certain categories and PCCD must prioritize funding for applicants with high rates of crime or low clearance rates. Eligible applicants will be able to apply for a grant to implement information technology improvements, purchase or upgrade equipment, cover non-traditional law enforcement personnel costs, support retention and recruitment efforts, and provide necessary training and cover related expenses. 

Eligible applicants may use awarded funding for the following:

1.       Purchase and upgrade technology and information technology improvements including, but not limited to:

• Record management systems
• Report management systems
• National Incident-based reporting system updates

2.       Purchase and upgrade hardware and software equipment, including, but not limited to:

• Body-worn cameras
• Vehicle cameras
• Mobile information technology equipment

3.       Support non-sworn personnel costs, including, but not limited to:

• Civilian personnel
• Co-responder models
• Crisis intervention specialists
• Civilian community relations specialists

4.       Support non-reoccurring personnel costs for sworn officers, including, but not limited to:

• Officer wellness programs
• Programs that support increased diversity
• Retention and recruitment programs

5.       Support policy development, evidence-based practices and training, including, but not limited to:

• Crisis intervention training
• Use of force training
• Implicit bias training
• De-escalation training
• Associated costs related to training

How much total funding is available?

$135 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding is available to fund this grant program, however, there are limitations in the amount of funding that can be received by any eligible applicant based on the population of the municipality served.

The max amounts are listed below, and population must be determined based on the most recent census data.

How will this application be reviewed?

The grant solicitation is competitive and PCCD is required by law to prioritize issuing grants to areas of Pennsylvania with high rates of violence or to law enforcement agencies with low clearance rates (i.e., lower ability to solve crimes). 

PCCD encourages applicants to give careful consideration to what they are asking for in their grant application and provide clear and practical justification for their funding requests. Applicants are discouraged from "throwing in the kitchen sink" to apply for the statutory maximum amount for their department. A recommended strategy is to put time and effort into determining what you need the MOST, and crafting your application and budget accordingly, even if it means applying for less than your statutory maximum.

When will I be able to apply?

The application period is now OPEN and will be OPEN until October 13, 2022. Please see the funding announcement webpage for the actual written solicitation and directions on how to submit an application.

If I am successful in receiving funding, when will I find out?

The final determination of who receives funding will be made at one of PCCD's Commission meetings. It is anticipated that the funds will be awarded in December 2022.

How should I get prepared to apply?

First, if you haven't done so already, sign up to receive notifications as to when solicitations are released in our Egrants system.

Second, create an account and register your agency in Egrants, PCCDs grant application system. Click here for a step-by-step walkthrough of the agency sign-up process, and click here to sign up. Other Egrants access information can be found at the bottom of our Grant Guides page as well.

Third, start gathering information NOW that will be used to explain the need for the requested funding and prioritize what is needed.  

The following list of information items is the predicted minimum of what will be requested of grant applicants. Some questions will be relevant for all applicants, while others only relate to the particular category/item of funding for which an applicant is seeking funding.  In all cases the applicant will be expected to describe how their project will impact violent crime rates and/or improve clearance rates. Applicants will be expected to provide an analysis of need related to their request and where applicable a description of the acknowledged best practice and where their department stands compared to that best practice standard. 

Every applicant will be asked to provide the following information:

• The applicant's ORI
• Whether or not the agency covers their jurisdiction on a full or part-time basis
• The way the agency reported data to PSP in 2019, 2020 and 2021 (e.g., UCR, NIBRS, etc.)
• Number of full-time sworn law enforcement personnel
• Number of part-time sworn law enforcement personnel
• Number of full-time civilian personnel
• Number of part-time civilian personnel
• Number of vacant, budgeted, full-time sworn law enforcement positions (in other words, how many positions the applicant could hire for, if there were people to fill them)
• Number of vacant, budgeted, part-time sworn law enforcement positions (in other words, how many positions the applicant could hire for, if there were people to fill them)
• Three-year average budget of the LLE agency

Applicants may be requested to provide the following information pending the availability of data from UCR and NIBRS:

• Information related to the calculation of the applicant's violent crime rates, to include:
• The applicant's actual/substantiated violent crimes for calendar years 2019, 2020 and 2021
• A jurisdiction's violent crime rate includes the following substantiated "Crime Index" offenses: a.) murder, b.) nonnegligent manslaughter, c.) rape, d.) robbery, and e.) aggravated assault
• Information related to the applicant's clearance rate for calendar years 2019, 2020 and 2021. Clearance rate is defined as a jurisdiction's percentage of substantiated crimes cleared by arrest in a given year. Applicants may need to provide:
• Total number of actual/substantiated crimes (all crimes) annually
• Total number of actual/substantiated crimes cleared by arrest annually

If applying under Category 1: Technology and IT Improvements, applicants should be prepared to provide, at a minimum, the following information, if applicable and relevant to their specific request:

• Type of records and/or report management system (RMS) the applicant currently has and the type the applicant plans to upgrade to
• Whether they intend to improve their data reporting by upgrading to the NIBRS system
• The type of upgrades the applicant is intending to make to improve the RMS and how it will improve their ability to report accurate crime statistics to PSP/the FBI via UCR or NIBRS
• Description of any other type of IT improvements the applicant intends to make with funding, and why their department needs to make them
• Description of how items requested under this category will help in decreasing violence rates or increasing clearance rates.
• Description of the data that the applicant will gather and provide to PCCD to show how the impact of the funding on their agency 

If applying under Category 2: Hardware and Software Equipment, applicants should be prepared to provide, at a minimum, the following information, if applicable and relevant to their specific request:

• Description of the type of hardware or software equipment that the applicant hopes to purchase with the funding and a description of the need
• Number of officers currently equipped with the item or items requested
• Number of officers that should be equipped based on best practice standards
• If replacing equipment, rationale based on best practice standard for that type of equipment
• Description of how the equipment will assist law enforcement in decreasing their violent crime rate or increasing their clearance rate
• Description of the data that the applicant will gather and provide to PCCD to show the impact of the funding on their agency 

If applying under Category 3: Non-sworn personnel costs, applicants should be prepared to provide, at a minimum, the following information, if applicable and relevant to their specific request:

• Whether the applicant currently utilizes a civilian supported co-responder or crisis intervention model and whether they intend to start one, improve one, or expand one with this funding
• A description of the need for a co-responder or crisis intervention model and how it will assist the applicant's department
• Whether the applicant currently has civilian forensic lab personnel or other forensic personnel that are supported and whether they intend to support forensic personnel with this funding 
• Current workload data for the lab personnel and the expected impact that additional personnel would have on that workload to include a comparison of current status to best practice standards
• Number of vacant civilian positions for which the applicant has available funding
• Need for additional civilian positions and how those positions well help the applicant reduce violent crime or increase clearance rate or otherwise improve their department
• A description of the data the applicant will gather and provide to PCCD to show the impact of the funding on their agency

If applying under Category 4: Non-reoccurring personnel costs for sworn officers, applicants should be prepared to provide, at a minimum, the following information, if applicable and relevant to their specific request:

• Whether the applicant currently offers officer wellness programs to the applicant's sworn officers, what those programs are and whether the applicant plans to increase/improve the programs with this funding
• Whether the applicant currently implements any programs to support increased diversity, what those programs are and whether the applicant intends to do so with this funding
• If the applicant is not seeking funding for officer wellness, or to help increase diversity, specific information about the type of program that the applicant intends to implement for sworn officers and why the program is needed
• A description of how these programs will help the applicant decrease violent crime rates or increase clearance rates
• A description of the applicant's current retention plan for sworn officers
• Whether the applicant plans to use "one-time" funds to improve officer retention and if so, how
• Whether the applicant plans to offer bonuses to existing officers with the funding and if so, how bonus amounts will be determined and how officers will be selected to receive bonuses
• Whether the applicant has a current recruitment plan for sworn officers and whether they intend to utilize these funds to improve or create a recruitment plan and how
• A description of how the proposed recruitment or retention plan will help the department lower violent crime rates or increase clearance rates
• If not applying for funds for items discussed above, a description of how the funds for non-reoccurring personnel costs for sworn officers will be used and how the use of the funds in this way will help the department lower violent crime rates or increase clearance rates
• A description of the data the applicant will gather and provide to PCCD to show the impact of the funding on their agency

If applying under Category 5: Policy development, evidence-based practices and training, the applicant should be prepared to provide, at a minimum, the following information, if applicable and relevant to their specific request:

• Number of sworn law enforcement trained and up to date in crisis intervention
• Number of sworn officers or civilians on staff and certified to train others in crisis intervention
• Number of sworn law enforcement officers trained and up to date in current "use of force" tactics
• Number of sworn officers or civilians on staff certified to train others in "use of force" tactics
• Number of sworn law enforcement trained regarding implicit bias
• Number of sworn officers or civilian staff certified to train others regarding implicit bias
• Number of sworn law enforcement trained in current de-escalation techniques
• Number of sworn officers or civilian staff certified to train others regarding de-escalation techniques
• Type of training the applicant wishes to support with these funds, the number of officers the applicant hopes to support with the training and the reasoning behind the training request.
• A clear description of any other policy development or evidence-based practices and the need for the requested funding to support policy development or evidence-based practices
• A description of how the proposed training, policy development or evidence-based practices will help the agency decrease violent crime rates or increase clearance rates
• A description of the data the applicant will gather and provide to PCCD to show the impact of the funding on their agency 
  

View ​The GVIP Dashboard​ on our Gun Violence Data & Research page.

What is the purpose of the GVIP Grant Program?

To make grants to county district attorneys' offices and local law enforcement agencies to investigate and prosecute the following:

(1) a violation of 18 Pa. C.S. Ch. 31 (relating to firearms and other dangerous articles).

(2) a crime of violence as defined in 42 Pa. C.S. § 9714(g) (relating to sentences for second and subsequent where a firearm or a replica of a firearm, as defined in 42 Pa.C.S. § 9712(e) (relating to sentences for offenses committed with firearms), is used in the commission of the crime.

Who can apply?

District Attorneys, local law enforcement agencies (defined as: "A public agency of a political subdivision having general police powers and charged with making arrests in connection with the enforcement of the criminal or traffic laws"), campus police or university police, railroad or street railway police (e.g., SEPTA police), airport authority police department, and a county park police force (i.e., Westmoreland County Park Police).

How can eligible applicants use the funds?

The use of funding is limited to five categories that are designed to allow law enforcement to improve their abilities to investigate gun crimes. Applicants can request funds for the following:

1. To improve and enhance coordination of Federal, State, and local law enforcement investigations and prosecutions of violations of 18 Pa.C.S. Ch. 61 and crimes of violence involving firearms.
2. To support personnel costs, including salaries and overtime, relating to investigations and prosecutions of violations of 18 Pa.C.S. Ch. 61 and crimes of violence involving firearms, with priority given to applications focusing on straw purchasers and firearms trafficking.       
3. To purchase technology systems, including related hardware and software, to improve investigations and prosecutions or increase clearance rates, including the purchase of gunshot detection technology and other technologies that support firearm violence reduction initiatives.
4. Initiatives that support the tracing of firearms used to commit crimes or delinquent acts and the identification of illegal firearms traffickers.        
5. Any other efforts that aid in the investigation, arrest, and prosecution of a crime involving firearms.

How much total funding is available?

$50 million in federal American Recuse Plan Act (ARPA) funding is available to fund this grant program, however, there are limitations in the amount of funding that can be received by any applicant based on the population of the municipality served. 10% of available grant funds (i.e., $5 million) will be reserved for county district attorney's offices and law enforcement agencies serving rural communities. 

The max amounts are listed below, and population must be determined based on the most recent census data.

How will this application be reviewed?

The grant solicitation will be competitive and PCCD is required by law to prioritize issuing grants to areas of Pennsylvania with high rates of gun violence. 

PCCD encourages applicants to give careful consideration to what they are asking for in their grant application and provide clear and practical justification for their funding requests. Applicants are discouraged from "throwing in the kitchen sink" to apply for the statutory maximum amount for their department or office. A recommended strategy is to put time and effort into determining what you need the MOST, and crafting your application and budget accordingly, even if it means applying for less than your statutory maximum.

When will I be able to apply?

The application period is now OPEN and will be OPEN until October 13, 2022. Please see the funding announcement webpage for the actual written solicitation and directions on how to submit an application.

If I am successful in receiving funding, when will I find out?

The final determination of who receives funding will be made at one of PCCD's Commission meetings. It is anticipated that the funds will be awarded in December 2022.

How should I get prepared to apply?

First, if you haven't done so already, sign up to receive notifications as to when solicitations are released in our Egrants system.

Second, create an account and register your agency in Egrants, PCCDs grant application system. Click here for a step-by-step walkthrough of the agency sign-up process, and click here to sign up. Other Egrants access information can be found at the bottom of our Grant Guides page as well.

Third, start gathering information NOW that you will probably need to provide as part of the application process. 

The information below will be the minimum of what is requested. Some questions will be relevant for all applicants, while others only relate to the particular category of funding for which an applicant is seeking funding.

Regardless of the category of application, everyone will be asked to provide  the following information:

• Number of full-time sworn law enforcement personnel
• Number of part-time sworn law enforcement personnel

If applying under Category 1: Improve and enhance coordination of federal, state and local LE, the applicant should be prepared to provide, at a minimum, the following information, if applicable and relevant to their specific request:

• Whether the applicant currently has a coordinated gun violence task force, and who is included on the applicant task force.
• If the applicant is planning to improve coordination, who is the applicant planning to include in the applicant's task force or coordinated group (state level investigators, federal investigators, other local LE agencies)
• Letters of support from the agencies that the applicant plans to partner with
• A description of how the coordinated effort will help to reduce gun violence in their jurisdiction
• A description of the data the applicant will collect and provide to PCCD to measure the impact of the project on their jurisdiction

If applying under Category 2: Support Personnel Costs the applicant should be prepared to provide, at a minimum, the following information, if applicable and relevant to their specific request:

• Number of sworn officers/detectives currently employed who work on gun violence investigations
• Description of the need for additional funding to either hire additional officers, or support overtime for existing officers
• A description of how the additional funding for personnel will decrease gun violence in their jurisdiction
• A description of the data the applicant will collect and provide to PCCD to measure the impact of the project on their jurisdiction

If applying under Category 3: Technology systems to support firearm violence reduction initiatives, the applicant should be prepared to provide, at a minimum, the following information, if applicable and relevant to their specific request:

• Whether the applicant currently has gunshot detection technology, what the technology is and how it is used.
• The type and cost of the technology that the applicant intends to purchase, how it works and a description of what it is meant to do.
• A description of how the technology will decrease gun violence in their jurisdiction
• A description of the data the applicant will collect and provide to PCCD to measure the impact of the project on their jurisdiction

If applying under Category 4: Initiatives to support tracing firearms, the applicant should be prepared to provide, at a minimum, the following information, if applicable and relevant to their specific request:

• Whether the applicant currently has any initiatives in place to support tracing firearms and what they are
• The type and cost of the initiative(s) the applicant intends to put into place to support firearms tracing if awarded this funding
• A description of how the project will decrease gun violence in their jurisdiction
• Letters of support from any stakeholders involved in the tracing initiatives
• A description of the data the applicant will collect and provide to PCCD to measure the impact of the project on their jurisdiction

If applying under Category 5: Other efforts to aid in investigation, arrest and prosecution of crime involving firearms, the applicant should be prepared to provide, at a minimum, the following information, if applicable and relevant to their specific request:

• A detailed description of the type of program or effort that will be made to aid in these investigations
• A detailed description on why this approach will work to improve investigation, arrest and prosecution of gun crimes
• A description of how the project will decrease gun violence in their jurisdiction
• Letters of support from any stakeholders involved in the proposed initiative(s)
• A description of the data the applicant will collect and provide to PCCD to measure the impact of the project on their jurisdiction