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While budget constraints compel law enforcement administrators to Waccomplish more with a smaller budget, state and federal grants have become important to police agencies faced with diminishing financial resources. Police executives must determine how to increase organizational efficiency, effectiveness, and equity. By improving their grantsmanship skills, police managers can enhance their opportunity to successfully achieve these objectives.

Escalating crime and additional community responsibilities can overwhelm law enforcement executives; however, improving their
grant-writing skills can help them finance various opportunities to reduce crime. Large urban departments often are more successful at acquiring grant funding because they have the trained staff and resources to vigorously pursue grant application opportunities.

Acquiring additional financial support and grant funding in rural and suburban communities, which represent an important sector of
America’s policing, can prove beneficial. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, approximately 15,000 of the 17,000 police agencies in the United States serve populations of less than 50,000. Many of these police departments are rural or suburban and have fewer than 25 sworn officers.

Because of their size, some smaller police agencies may experience difficulties in obtaining grants; however, certain grantsmanship
methods exist that can help departments increase opportunities for grant selection and funding. A community does not always have to experience a high crime rate to receive a grant. Several reasons may exist that can explain this contradiction, one of which may be the grant application process.

Oftentimes, smaller agencies simply may not have applied for grants, or they may have felt intimidated by the paperwork and grant
application process. In fact, rural and suburban police agencies can pursue grants as often and easily as larger departments. Learning to write successful grants is an evolutionary process. Police agencies may find that following some basic steps can prove useful in assisting them in the grantsmanship application process.

Target Funding
When considering applying for a grant, departments should initiate a timely application for the funds. Because the budget section of the grant application requires special attention, departments should assess potential fiscal requirements,