Vicksburg Warren School District has been awarded $500,000 from the Department of Justice’s Office of Community-Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office).

VWSD is one of 10 school districts that have been awarded the 2023 COPS School Violence Prevention Program (SVPP) Award.

The Department of Justice’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office) announced more than $334 million in awards to state, local, tribal and other entities through several grant programs:

• Nearly $217 million to 394 agencies through the COPS Hiring Program (CHP) for the hiring of 1,730 entry-level career law enforcement officers in an effort to create and preserve jobs and increase community policing capacity and crime prevention efforts.

• More than $73.6 million to 206 school districts, state and local governments, and other public agencies through the COPS School Violence Prevention Program (SVPP) to improve security at schools and on school grounds.
• Approximately $43.6 million to support crisis intervention teams, de-escalation training, accreditation efforts, and innovative community policing strategies through the COPS Community Policing Development (CPD) program.