Attorney General Jeff Sessions today announced over $12 million in grant funding through the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office) to support law enforcement agencies in combating the illegal manufacturing and distribution of methamphetamine, heroin, and prescription opioids.
Since 1999, overdose threats from opioids, including prescription opioids and heroin, have more than quadrupled. Drug overdoses are now the leading cause of injury death in the United States, outnumbering both traffic crashes and gun-related deaths. On October 26, 2017, President Donald J. Trump declared the opioid crisis a national public health emergency. The Administration is committed to providing law enforcement agencies with resources and tools to help combat this crisis, which has had devastating impact on the public health and safety of American citizens.
Through the COPS Anti-Methamphetamine Program (CAMP), the Department will award $5,032,697 to six state law enforcement agencies. These state agencies have demonstrated numerous seizures of precursor chemicals, finished methamphetamine, laboratories, and laboratory dump seizures. State agencies will be awarded two years of funding through CAMP to support the investigation of illicit activities related to the manufacture and distribution of methamphetamine.
The COPS Office will also award $7,190,000 in grant funding to eight state law enforcement agency task forces through the Anti-Heroin Task Force Program (AHTF). AHTF provides two years of funding directly to law enforcement agencies in states with high per capita levels of primary treatment admissions for heroin and other opioids. This funding will support the location or investigation of illicit activities related to the distribution of heroin or the unlawful distribution of prescription opioids.
“With one American dying of a drug overdose every nine minutes, there’s no question we are facing the deadliest drug crisis in our history,” Sessions said. “The vast majority of these fatal overdoses are from opioids: prescription painkillers, heroin, and synthetic drugs like fentanyl. And according to the DEA, methamphetamine availability is increasing in America. I want to commend President Trump for his commitment to turning the tide of the drug epidemic. Law enforcement is indispensable to that goal. When we enforce our drug laws, we prevent the spread of addiction and its horrific consequences. These new resources we announce today will help our law enforcement officers be even more effective at protecting us from the drugs that are ruining lives across America.”
Since 2014, the COPS Office has invested more than $23 million nationwide to combat the spread of methamphetamine. Through the AHTF Program, which began in 2015, the COPS Office has awarded nearly $19 million nationwide to combat the opioid crisis.
The complete list of COPS Anti-Methamphetamine Program award recipients, including funding amounts, can be found here: http://www.cops.usdoj.gov/Default.asp?Item=2893.
The complete list of Anti-Heroin Task Force Program award recipients, including funding amounts, can be found here: http://www.cops.usdoj.gov/Default.asp?Item=2892. The COPS Office awards grants to hire community policing officers, develop and test innovative policing strategies, and provide training and technical assistance to community members, local government leaders, and all levels of law enforcement. Since 1994, the COPS Office has invested more than $14 billion to help advance community policing.
