CEDAR RAPIDS - Earlier this week the United States Department of Justice announced that nearly $18 million in Community Oriented Policing Services Office (COPS) grant funding was awarded through the COPS Anti-Gang Initiative, COPS Anti-Heroin Task Force Program, and the COPS Anti-Methamphetamine Program. Iowa was one of seven states to receive grant funding through the COPS Anti-Methamphetamine Program (CAMP). The amount awarded to the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement was $282,561.
Only state law enforcement agencies authorized by law or by state agency to engage in or supervise anti-methamphetamine investigative activities are eligible to apply for CAMP funding. Agencies that applied as part of a new or existing anti- methamphetamine task force with multi-jurisdictional reach and an inter- disciplinary team structure received additional consideration.
“We look forward to the work of our local and state law enforcement partners," said COPS Office Director Ronald Davis. “By getting methamphetamine off the streets and shutting down laboratories, investigating illicit activities related to the distribution of heroin or unlawful distribution of prescriptive opioids, and combating gang activity through enforcement, prevention, education and intervention, we can make the country safer for everyone."
Kevin W. Techau, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Iowa said, “Methamphetamine continues to be a scourge in Iowa. This federal grant will allow law enforcement at the federal, state, and local levels to continue to work together against methamphetamine in communities across Iowa. The United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Iowa will continue to work with our law enforcement partners every day in every way possible."
CAMP is a competitive grant program designed with a focus on advancing public safety by providing funds directly to state law enforcement agencies to investigate illicit activities related to the manufacture and distribution of methamphetamine. CAMP provides funding directly to state law enforcement agencies in states with high seizures of precursor chemicals, finished methamphetamine, laboratories, and laboratory dump seizures for the purpose of locating and investigating illicit activities, including precursor diversion, laboratories and methamphetamine traffickers. For more information about the COPS Anti-Methamphetamine Program and a list of grant recipients, visit http://cops.usdoj.gov/Default.asp?Item=2716.
Since 1995, COPS has invested more than $14 billion to advance community policing, including grants awarded to more than 13,000 state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies to fund the hiring and redeployment of more than 127,000 officers and provide a variety of knowledge resource products including publications, training, and technical assistance. For additional information about COPS, please visit www.cops.usdoj.gov.
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Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
