January 1, 2021
By: Dwayne Page
The DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department has met the standards for use of force required to receive grants from the U.S. Department of Justice’s discretionary fund.
The Sheriff’s Department will now be eligible for these grants for the next three years.
Starting in 2021, DOJ discretionary grants will only be allocated to law enforcements agencies that meet certain standards from independent credentialing bodies.
To become certified and eligible, the law enforcement agencies have to provide proof that the department’s use of force policies are in line with all applicable federal, state, and local laws.
This is the letter Sheriff Patrick Ray received Thursday:
Dear Sheriff Ray,
“On behalf of the Tennessee Association of Chiefs of Police and the Tennessee Law Enforcement Accreditation Program, this letter confirms that the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department meets specific eligibility requirements, set forth by the U.S. Department of Justice, for discretionary federal grants. The DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department is qualified to receive federal grants for three years from the date of this letter.
Pursuant to Section 2 of the Presidential Executive Order on Safe Policing for Safe Communities, dated June 16, 2020, Executive Order No. 13929 (the “Executive Order on Safe Policing”), the U.S. Department of Justice’s discretionary grant funding is only available to state, local, and university or college law enforcement agencies that have obtained (or are in the process of seeking) credentials certifying that they meet specific standards on use of force. The U.S. Attorney General has designated the Tennessee Association of Chiefs of Police as an independent credentialing body to certify that Tennessee law enforcement agencies meet the conditions of eligibility for federal grants.
Following our review, we have determined that the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department meets the conditions for certification. Accordingly, the Tennessee Association of Chiefs of Police will include your agency within our database of certified law enforcement agencies. On or before January 31 of each year, we will provide the name of each certified law enforcement agency to the U.S. Department of Justice and the TN Office of Criminal Justice Programs”.
Sincerely,
Maggi M. Duncan, Executive Director
Troy Lane, President