Funding announced to combat illegal opioids and methamphetamine

The Department of Justice’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office) announced on Monday $44.5 million in funding to support state-level law enforcement agencies in combating the illegal manufacturing and distribution of methamphetamine, heroin and prescription opioids.

“The Department of Justice is very pleased to provide these critical public safety resources and continue supporting law enforcement efforts to battle against the national crisis posed by the manufacture and distribution of methamphetamine, heroin and prescription opioids,” said Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta. “This funding will help to greatly reduce the availability of lethal drugs and maintain health and safety in our communities.”

Through the Anti-Heroin Task Force Program (AHTF), the COPS Office is awarding more than $31.1 million in grant funding to 13 state law enforcement agencies with multijurisdictional reach and interdisciplinary team (e.g., task force) structures. AHTF provides funding directly to state law enforcement agencies in states with high per capita rates of primary treatment admissions for heroin, fentanyl, carfentanil, and other opioids. This funding will support the location or investigation of illicit activities through statewide collaboration related to the distribution of heroin, fentanyl or carfentanil, or the unlawful distribution of prescription opioids.

Through the COPS Anti-Methamphetamine Program (CAMP), the COPS Office will also award more than $13.3 million to nine state law enforcement agencies that have demonstrated numerous seizures of precursor chemicals, finished methamphetamine, laboratories and laboratory dump seizures. This funding will support the location or investigation of illicit activities related to the manufacture and distribution of methamphetamine, including precursor diversion, laboratories or methamphetamine traffickers.

The complete list of Anti-Heroin Task Force Program award recipients, including funding amounts, can be found here: https://cops.usdoj.gov/pdf/2021AwardDocs/ahtf/Award_List.pdf

The complete list of COPS Anti-Methamphetamine Program award recipients, including funding amounts, can be found here: https://cops.usdoj.gov/pdf/2021AwardDocs/camp/Award_List.pdf

The COPS Office is the federal component of the Department of Justice responsible for advancing community policing nationwide. The only Department of Justice agency with policing in its name, the COPS Office was established in 1994 and has been the cornerstone of the nation’s crime fighting strategy with grants, a variety of knowledge resource products, and training and technical assistance. Through the years, the COPS Office has become the go-to organization for law enforcement agencies across the country and continues to listen to the field and provide the resources that are needed to reduce crime and build trust between law enforcement and the communities served. The COPS Office has invested more than $14 billion to advance community policing, including grants awarded to more than 13,000 state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies to fund the hiring and redeployment of more than 134,000 officers.