Congresswoman Kathy Castor announced today that the U.S. Department of Justice has awarded more than $4.7 million to three local law enforcement agenices to hire, rehire or keep on board 25 officers. The money comes from President Obama’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

"This is good news because we’ll be able to keep our communities safe while making sure law enforcement agencies are able to hire, rehire or retain officers despite budget shortfalls affecting our local governments," Castor said. "The Recovery Act continues to do what we intended: create and preserve jobs."

The St. Petersburg Police Department is receving more than $2 million and plans to hire five new officers with this funding and rehire five officers who were slated to be laid off. 

The Manatee County sheriff’s office will receive $1.6 million to hire nine new officers. The Bradenton Police Department will receive $1.1 million to rehire six officers who were slated to be laid off.

The grants are administered by the Justice Department’s Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) through the COPS Hiring Recovery Program. The grants provide salaries and benefits for entry-level police officers over a three-year period. Agencies receiving grants finance a fourth year.