Stimulus to fund 50 new Phila. police officers

Federal stimulus grants to be announced tomorrow in Philadelphia by Vice President Biden and U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder will pay for the hiring of 93 law enforcement officers in Pennsylvania, including 50 in Philadelphia, a White House official said tonight.

New Jersey cities will get funding for a total of 123 officers, including 18 in Trenton and 25 in Paterson, said the official, who was not authorized to speak for attribution.

The money will come from a competitive program set up as part of the $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, enacted in February, but not announced in terms of grant recipients until now. Biden and Holder will be joined in a morning news conference at Philadelphia City Hall by Mayor Nutter, and Gov. Rendell of Pennsylvania and Gov. Corzine of New Jersey.

About $1 billion was set aside to help budget-strapped cities such as Philadelphia avoid laying off large numbers of police officers. But more than $8.3 billion in fund requests were received by the Justice Department, and many of the 7,200 communities that asked for money will be left out.

The Associated Press said tonight that several large cities, including New York, Seattle, Houston and Pittsburgh, had failed to qualify for the funds.

Pennsylvania's total will be about $20 million; New Jersey's, almost $29 million.

The White House official said that the grants will cover 100 percent of the approved salary and benefits for 4,699 officers, nationally, for three years. Police departments receiving the grants will then be required to retain the grant-funded positions for a fourth year.

The funding will be handled under the Department of Justice Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS).

Contact staff writer Tom Infield at 610-313-8205 or tinfield@phillynews.com.