The Biden administration announced Thursday it has awarded $334 million in grants to help local law enforcement agencies hire new officers and improve in areas such as crisis intervention and community policing. Some of the money will also help upgrade security at schools.

The funding is part of the Justice Department’s comprehensive strategy for reducing violent crime, launched by Attorney General Merrick Garland in May 2021. The approach focuses on utilizing federal resources and expertise to assist state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies.

Wednesday’s announcement includes nearly $217 million for hiring 1,730 entry-level officers at 394 agencies in 48 states through the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services’ (COPS) hiring program.

Nearly $74 million will go to school districts, state and local governments, and other public agencies to help improve security on school campuses.

And $43.6 million will support crisis intervention teams, deescalation training, accreditation efforts and innovative community policing strategies.

“These grants will go directly to those who are on the front lines and will strengthen public safety nationwide,” Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco told reporters.

The grants bring the Justice Department’s total investments in community safety this fiscal year to $5.6 billion, Monaco said.

The latest grants will, for example, allow the Police Department in Mendota, California, to hire additional officers to work alongside behavioral health professionals as they respond to calls about mental health crises, substance addiction and homelessness.

Meanwhile, the Safford Unified School District in Arizona will use a grant to improve communications systems to ensure consistency and reliability, including for dialing 911.

A senior administration official said the school funding could not be used to hire security officers for campuses but could be spent on “target hardening measures” such as metal detectors, locks, lighting and security cameras.

In Leon County, Florida, grant funding will help analyze data on successful uses of deescalation techniques.

Tampa, Florida, Mayor Jane Castor, a former police chief, said the money her city is receiving will help its Police Department hire and retain 30 officers and provide deescalation training.

“This grant is incredibly important because as we all know there’s nothing that keeps our neighborhoods safe like having more boots on the ground,” Castor said. “These new officers are going to play a critical role in engaging residents to reduce crime.”

Houston Police Chief Troy Finner said his department is receiving $6.2 million to hire 50 officers to address violent crime and gun violence and another $200,000 to help officers’ mental health and wellness.

“Our officers are exposed to stress and trauma every day in the services that they put out to the communities,” Finner said. “We must also continue to invest in human infrastructure. This funding does exactly that.”

The Biden administration also announced it has added five new cities to more than 50 jurisdictions participating in the Justice Department’s National Public Safety Partnership (PSP), which works to help departments reduce crime, solve homicide cases and improve the quality of life in their communities. The five new cities are Knoxville, Tennessee; Minneapolis; Raleigh, North Carolina; San Antonio; and Vallejo, California.

The Justice Department also announced it will host a Project Safe Neighborhoods for a Violent Crime Reduction Summit next month in Indianapolis, which will bring together 1,500 local and federal partners.

Biden administration officials argued their approach to tackling crime in cities is working, citing FBI statistics showing murder and manslaughter fell by 6.4% and rape decreased by nearly 8% nationwide from 2021 to 2022. They said the downward trend has continued into this year.

“This is a strategy that is yielding real results being seen and felt around the country,” Monaco said.