The gist
Houston City Council on Jan. 21 approved the $6.25 million federal grant with a nearly $2.1 million cash match from the city, according to agenda documents.
The grant comes from the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, or COPS, within the U.S. Department of Justice, the documents show. The COPS program aims to increase the community policing capacity and crime prevention efforts of local law enforcement agencies, according to the DOJ’s website.
This marks the 13th year HPD has participated in the DOJ’s COPS Hiring Program, per the documents.
Two-minute impact
The grant provides $125,000 per officer distributed across three years for 50 total recruits. Houston is required to provide at least a 25% cash match. However, the city’s actual contribution will exceed the minimum requirement as the projected cost per officer surpasses $125,000, city documents show.
The grant will offset approximately 50% of the total cost of hiring 50 cadets.
The Houston Police Department struggled with staff shortages in 2025, as the number of officers leaving HPD has historically outpaced those joining the department, according to Community Impact reporting.
HPD’s staffing has remained steady over the last five years, with approximately 5,180 officers on average, despite Houston’s population growth. As of November, HPD had 2.28 officers per 1,000 Houston residents, according to the department’s operational summary.
According to previous Community Impact reporting, the shortage can be attributed to several factors, such as neighboring cities offering higher salaries and a growing interest in jobs with work-life balance.
One more thing
Funding for the hiring initiative will be included in Houston’s fiscal year 2026-27 budget, according to agenda documents.
The DOJ grant will run until Oct. 1, 2030, with the potential for an extension.
