The Crisis Intervention Unit of the Aurora Police Department recently was granted nearly $300,000 by the United States Department of Justice’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services.
The 2022 Community Policing Crisis Intervention Unit grant, which totals $294,657.51, was awarded to the CIU, and will go towards implementing projects that help achieve a greater goal of reducing crime and building trust between community members and law enforcement.
The grant funding will be used by the department to enhance and extend the Crisis Intervention Unit’s co-response services. The unit was created in 2020 in response to a growing need for crisis intervention and mental health services for community members. The unit aims to identify individuals that would be better served by receiving mental health services in lieu of jail or arrest.
“Our department is both humbled and grateful to have received such a substantial grant,” Aurora Police Chief Keith Cross said of the funding award. “This funding will have a significant impact in helping the Crisis Intervention Unit provide our community members in crisis with the resources they need.”
The Community Oriented Policing Services Office, founded in 1994, is the component of the U.S. Department of Justice responsible for advancing the practice of community policing by the nation’s state, local, territorial, and tribal law enforcement agencies through information and grant resources.
