---
kind: "section"
citation: "34 U.S.C. § 12171"
title: "34"
title_heading: "Crime Control and Law Enforcement"
number: "12171"
heading: "Grant authority"
release: "119-102"
date: "2026-07-12"
url: "https://uscodex.org/usc/34/12171"
units:
  - "Subtitle I — Comprehensive Acts"
  - "Chapter 121 — Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement"
  - "Subchapter II — Crime Prevention"
  - "Part D — Police Recruitment"
---

# §12171. Grant authority

- (a) **Grants—**
  - (1) **In general—** The [Attorney General](/usc/34/10307.md?p=1) may make grants to qualified community organizations to assist in meeting the costs of qualified programs which are designed to recruit and retain applicants to police departments.
  - (2) **Consultation with the Ounce of Prevention Council—** The [Attorney General](/usc/34/10307.md?p=1) may consult with the Ounce of Prevention [Council](/usc/34/11103.md?p=17) in making grants under [paragraph (1)](#a-1).
- (b) **Qualified community organizations—** An organization is a qualified community organization which is eligible to receive a grant under [subsection (a)](#a) if the organization—
  - (1) is a [nonprofit organization](/usc/34/11103.md?p=23); and
  - (2) has training and experience in—
    - (A) working with a police department and with teachers, counselors, and similar personnel,
    - (B) providing [services](/usc/34/12291.md?p=a-51) to the community in which the organization is located,
    - (C) developing and managing [services](/usc/34/12291.md?p=a-51) and techniques to recruit individuals to become members of a police department and to assist such individuals in meeting the membership requirements of police departments,
    - (D) developing and managing [services](/usc/34/12291.md?p=a-51) and techniques to assist in the retention of applicants to police departments, and
    - (E) developing other programs that contribute to the community.
- (c) **Qualified programs—** A program is a qualified program for which a grant may be made under [subsection (a)](#a) if the program is designed to recruit and train individuals from underrepresented neighborhoods and localities and if—
  - (1) the overall design of the program is to recruit and retain applicants to a police department;
  - (2) the program provides recruiting [services](/usc/34/12291.md?p=a-51) which include tutorial programs to enable individuals to meet police force academic requirements and to pass entrance examinations;
  - (3) the program provides counseling to applicants to police departments who may encounter problems throughout the application process; and
  - (4) the program provides retention [services](/usc/34/12291.md?p=a-51) to assist in retaining individuals to stay in the application process of a police department.
- (d) **Applications—** To qualify for a grant under [subsection (a)](#a), a qualified organization shall submit an application to the [Attorney General](/usc/34/10307.md?p=1) in such form as the [Attorney General](/usc/34/10307.md?p=1) may prescribe. Such application shall—
  - (1) include documentation from the applicant showing—
    - (A) the need for the grant;
    - (B) the intended use of grant funds;
    - (C) expected results from the use of grant funds; and
    - (D) demographic characteristics of the population to be served, including age, disability, race, ethnicity, and languages used; and
  - (2) contain assurances satisfactory to the [Attorney General](/usc/34/10307.md?p=1) that the program for which a grant is made will meet the applicable requirements of the program guidelines prescribed by the [Attorney General](/usc/34/10307.md?p=1) under [subsection (i)](#i).
- (e) **Action by Attorney General—** Not later than 60 days after the date that an application for a grant under [subsection (a)](#a) is received, the [Attorney General](/usc/34/10307.md?p=1) shall consult with the police department which will be involved with the applicant and shall—
  - (1) approve the application and disburse the grant funds applied for; or
  - (2) disapprove the application and inform the applicant that the application is not approved and provide the applicant with the reasons for the disapproval.
- (f) **Grant disbursement—** The [Attorney General](/usc/34/10307.md?p=1) shall disburse funds under a grant under [subsection (a)](#a) in accordance with regulations of the [Attorney General](/usc/34/10307.md?p=1) which shall ensure—
  - (1) priority is given to applications for areas and organizations with the greatest showing of need;
  - (2) that grant funds are equitably distributed on a geographic basis; and
  - (3) the needs of [underserved populations](/usc/34/12291.md?p=a-46) are recognized and addressed.
- (g) **Grant period—** A grant under [subsection (a)](#a) shall be made for a period not longer than 3 years.
- (h) **Grantee reporting—**
  - (1) For each year of a grant period for a grant under [subsection (a)](#a), the recipient of the grant shall file a performance report with the [Attorney General](/usc/34/10307.md?p=1) explaining the activities carried out with the funds received and assessing the effectiveness of such activities in meeting the purpose of the recipient’s qualified program.
  - (2) If there was more than one recipient of a grant, each recipient shall file such report.
  - (3) The [Attorney General](/usc/34/10307.md?p=1) shall suspend the funding of a grant, pending compliance, if the recipient of the grant does not file the report required by this subsection or uses the grant for a purpose not authorized by this section.
- (i) **Guidelines—** The [Attorney General](/usc/34/10307.md?p=1) shall, by regulation, prescribe guidelines on content and results for programs receiving a grant under [subsection (a)](#a). Such guidelines shall be designed to establish programs which will be effective in training individuals to enter instructional programs for police departments and shall include requirements for—
  - (1) individuals providing recruiting [services](/usc/34/12291.md?p=a-51);
  - (2) individuals providing tutorials and other academic assistance programs;
  - (3) individuals providing retention [services](/usc/34/12291.md?p=a-51); and
  - (4) the content and duration of recruitment, retention, and counseling programs and the means and devices used to publicize such programs.

## Source credit

(Pub. L. 103–322, title III, § 30801, Sept. 13, 1994, 108 Stat. 1857.)

## Notes

### Editorial Notes

### Codification

Section was formerly classified to section 13811 of Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare, prior to editorial reclassification and renumbering as this section.