LANSING, Mich. — Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has announced grant scholarships totaling $30 million are available to assist with hiring more local officers in Michigan.
The Michigan governor’s office says the Public Safety Academy Assistance Program will help pay for basic training and cover recruits’ salaries.
"As a former prosecutor, public safety is a top priority, and I will work with anyone to ensure state and local law enforcement agencies have the resources, personnel, and training they need to keep our communities safe,” says Governor Whitmer. “This funding is a critical component of our plan to boost investment in public safety across the state. Every Michigander deserves to feel safe while going to the grocery store, dropping their kids off to school, or taking a walk around the block.”
We’re told law enforcement agencies can apply to receive up to $4,000 per recruit and up to $20,000 in academy and training expenses for enrollment periods starting on or after Jan. 1, 2023.
The grant program is funded from the state 2023 budget.
“This grant program will help local law enforcement agencies screen, hire and enroll individuals to a basic law enforcement training academy increasing the number of police officers in our state,” says Michigan Commission on Law Enforcement Standards (MCOLES) Executive Director Timothy S. Bourgeois. “The availability of these scholarships may allow agencies to recruit and hire police officers who may otherwise not have had the means to pay to attend a law enforcement academy.”
The state adds law enforcement agencies can receive as many as 25 scholarships under the program, which will last until Sept. 30, 2026 or until grant funds are depleted.
Visit MCOLES’s website for more information.
