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U.S. Department of Justice -Office of Community Oriented Policing Services r, ",�.Fl M16", rrhe retention requirement is a condition of your COPS hiring grant. It means that you are required to plan in good faith to retain the COPS officer positions with local funding at the conclusion of the COPS grant period. This applies to COPS AHEAD, FAST and UHP. Planning for Retaining the COPS Officer Positions In terms of planning, we mean that you must enter the 3 - year grant program with the understanding that you are required to seek local funding to add these officer positions to your local budget after the COPS grant period ends. Examples of "planning" for retaining the officer positions include the following: • Adding the COPS positions to your request for local funding during local budget negotiations in the fiscal year before your COPS grant will terminate • Applying for other non-federal funding sources (such as state grants, for example) to support the additional officer positions at the termination of the COPS grant • Seeking additional law enforcement funding from private sources, including corporate, nonprofit and foundation donations or grants The "Goad Faith Requirement By good faith, we mean that the planning must be a sincere and legitimate attempt by your law enforcement agency and by your governing body (the city, county, town or borough, for example) to secure and provide local funding to employ the additional officer positions at the conclusion of the grant period. A Note About Attrition Simply absorbing the COPS officer positions into your locally -funded staff through attrition is not an acceptable approach to meeting the retention requirements of your grant. COPS officer positions are to be retained over and above your previously locally -funded level of law enforce- ment, adding to a permanent increase in the number of sworn officer positions serving your community. Financial Inability to Implement a Good Faith Retention Plan We recognize that local fiscal and budgetary conditions cannot be predicted with certainty. If circumstances arise which prevent the retention of officer positions at the con- clusion of your grant, you will be asked to contact the COPS Office at that time for a review of your retention plan and implementation efforts. Questions Regarding the Good Faith Retention Plan During your grant term, you will complete progress reports which will provide the COPS Office with informa- tion about your general grant implementation and, specifi- cally, planning for retention. In the meantime, if you have any questions about the good faith retention plan require- ment, please contact your grant advisor at 1-800-421-6770. Updated. April 3,199 7