The Tucson Police Department received a $6.1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Justice that will allow the department to hire 25 police officers.
The grant will pay entry-level salaries and benefits for the police officers for 36 months, according to a department news release.
Tucson was one of three Arizona cities and 238 agencies around the country to receive money from the Department of Justice's Community Oriented Policing Services Hiring Program (COPS).
More than 2,700 agencies applied for the grant.
Tucson police will have to pay for the police officers for at least one year after the grant expires.
Police officials say the hiring process for these officer positions could begin in July 2012.
Department and city officials are waiting for a memorandum that will spell out the terms of the grant.
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The department will have 90 days to formally accept the grant after receiving the memorandum.
Tucson police received a COPS grant for $12.3 million to hire 50 police officers in October 2010.
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