The US Department of Justice plans to award up to $300m to two to four cities through its “Model Cities” policing initiative, with finalist cities expected to be announced next month. The grants would support enforcement surges modeled on Washington DC and Memphis, Tennessee, but applicants must accept conditions on immigration enforcement, anti-homelessness rules and possible repayment of future federal intervention costs.
The initiative offers some of the largest federal policing grants to individual US cities, but several municipal leaders have indicated they will not apply. Steven Reed, the mayor of Montgomery, Alabama, said he reviewed the grant and decided against applying.
What the Model Cities grants require
Eligible municipalities must have more than 100,000 residents and show documented “buy-in and support” from mayors, sheriff’s offices, city councils and county commissions. Funding would last three years and could be used for police hiring, substance-abuse recovery, prisoner re-entry, facilities, training and other public-safety programs.
The grant guidelines require cities to support federal immigration law-enforcement operations. They also require enforcement of prohibitions on open illicit drug use, urban camping, loitering and squatting, as well as standards addressing people who may be dangerous to themselves or others while experiencing serious mental illness or substance use. Housing support must include treatment compliance rather than the housing-first model.
The repayment condition and selection process
Grant awards will include a condition requiring recipients to reimburse costs associated with future federal law-enforcement intervention or assistance after a surge in violent crime or public disorder. The Justice Department has not provided the specific terms or answered questions about how the provision would work.
Unlike many earlier policing grants, applications are expected to be evaluated by senior political appointees at the Justice Department rather than through a peer-review recommendation process, according to Amy Solomon, a senior fellow at the Council on Criminal Justice and a former Justice Department official. The department said its leaders had been answering questions from interested cities but did not say whether eligible applications had already been received.
Why some cities are declining
The grant document identifies Washington DC and Memphis as models, although both cities have had National Guard troops patrolling their streets. The administration has continued to defend its taskforce in Memphis after four officer-involved deaths since the taskforce began last September.
Reed said cities needed investment in the root causes of public-safety problems rather than a quick fix. In Billings, Montana, the city council voted 9-1 against forwarding an application after public criticism. San Bernardino, California, withdrew a scheduled vote following public outcry.
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