The Department of Justice today granted Tulsa $4.49 million to hire and retain 23 police officers. The grant is part of $298 million distributed across the U.S. today by the DOJ.

The grants provide 100 percent of the approved salary and benefits for entry-level officer positions over a three-year period. Police departments receiving the grants will then be required to retain the grant-funded positions for a fourth year.

Other Oklahoma police departments receiving funds are the Absentee Shawnee Tribe of Indians, Citizen Potawatomi Nation, Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma, Kaw Nation of Oklahoma, Lawton PD, Town of McCloud, Miami Tribe of Oklahoma, Ponca City, Sand Springs PD and Tecumseh PD.

“We know that the men and women who serve on our nation’s police forces not only respond to crime but also are critical to reducing it and preventing it,” said Tom Perrelli, associate attorney general. “The department’s COPS program is based on a simple recognition: There is almost nothing more effective in keeping the public safe than cops on the beat who have the equipment and resources they need.”