Grant allows Cape Girardeau to hire three more police officers

The city of Cape Girardeau soon will hire three police officers, thanks to a grant awarded through U.S. Department of Justice's COPS Hiring Program.

The grant, about $355,000, will pay 75 percent of salaries and benefits for the officers for three years. The city will match 25 percent.

"The terms of the grant allow us to go ahead and start hiring immediately," said police chief Wes Blair. "And of course we're going to jump on that as fast as we can."

The city has to pay 100 percent of the officers' salaries the fourth year, Blair said. If the city chooses not to do so, it will have to repay the grant.

After the fourth year, there are no ramifications for layoffs, but Blair said he doesn't anticipate that happening.

The department applied for the grant in the past and was in need of additional officers, Blair said.

"One of the conditions of the grant is that they be engaged in community-oriented policing," Blair said, adding the new officers will be placed in the patrol division. "It'll help spread the load out so that officers can spend more time doing proactive policing and engaging with the community."

Being able to tell officers the department will hire additional help is an "incredible morale-booster," Blair said.

Cape Girardeau is among four cities in Missouri that will receive federal grants through the program.

The state will receive a total of $3.7 million. The largest share will go to St. Louis, which will receive $1.8 million to hire 15 more police officers by next summer.

Springfield will receive $1.3 million for 11 officers and Berkeley $216,171 for two officers.

The COPS program awarded more than $107 million to about 200 agencies nationwide.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

klamb@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3639

Pertinent address:

Cape Girardeau, Mo.