Havre PD awarded $125K grant

The Havre Police Department has been awarded $125,000 to hire or retain police personnel through a grant also given to three other communities.

Sens. Jon Tester and John Walsh announced Thursday that the Big Horn County Sheriff’s Office, the Butte Silver Boy Law Enforcement Agency, the Havre Police Department and the City of Missoula were to be given grant money through the Community Oriented Policing Services Hiring Program.

Each agency was given $125,000, except for Butte’s, which received $250,000.

“Building trust between law enforcement officers and the folks they serve is one of the best ways to prevent crime,” Tester said in a press release from the U.S. Senate. “This initiative is about building relationships and solving problems. These grants will help law enforcement work collaboratively with our communities while also taking steps to keep our kids and schools safe.”

The COPS Hiring Program considered factors like agencies requesting school resource officers, those who wanted to build trust between them and the community, hiring military veterans and focusing on homicide or gun violence.

“Providing resources to our first responders is an investment in our local communities and in the safety of our families,” Walsh said in the press release. “Local law enforcement agencies are on the front lines of keeping us safe, often putting their lives on the line, which is why these grants are so important.”