Justice Department Offers $300 Million for Conservative Policing Models

The United States Department of Justice is offering $300 million in grants to two to four U.S. cities with populations exceeding 100,000 through the Model Cities policing initiative. Funded by President Donald Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill, the program seeks to reduce violent crime by financing police hiring and substance abuse programs, using enforcement surges in Washington DC and Memphis, Tennessee, as blueprints.

To qualify for the funding, cities must abandon progressive policing ideologies, comply with federal immigration enforcement, and implement conservative anti-homelessness rules that reject the housing-first model. The grants include a condition requiring cities to potentially repay costs for future federal law enforcement interventions during periods of violent crime or civil unrest.

While the Department of Justice reports intense interest, several Democratic-led cities and some Republican-leaning municipalities, including Billings, Montana, have rejected or withdrawn applications. Montgomery Mayor Steven Reed declined to apply, arguing that the program focuses on quick fixes rather than investing in the root causes of crime.