Soap Lake police receive $125,000 federal grant

The Soap Lake Police Department (SLPD) received a $125,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Justice, according to a social media post Thursday.

Several months ago, the SLPD applied for the grant, called the COPS Hiring Program, which provides the city up to 75% of the money needed for three years of an officer’s salary to help retain officers. In the three-year period, the award will total $125,000, the post stated.

The SLPD was notified Thursday it was one of four agencies in the state to receive the grant. The other state agencies awarded included Zillah and Tukwila police departments and the Suquamish Tribal Police. Zillah, Tukwila and Soap Lake each received $125,000 and the Suquamish Tribal Police received $375,000.

“We are extremely excited that we will be able to retain the position and keep providing excellent public safety services to our community,” the SLPD post said.

The cops.usdoj.gov website states the COPS Office received 590 total CHP applications this year from law enforcement agencies in nearly every state and U.S. territory. It also states the COPS Office awarded 183 different state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies, which was 31% of the total applications. The awards totaled $139,232,523 to support the hiring of 1,066 full-time officers and deputies.

For more information on this grant, visit https://cops.usdoj.gov/chp-award.