The Attorney General’s Award for Distinguished Service in community policing in the category of “Field Operations for an agency serving over 250,000 residents” was awarded to both Deputy Tanya Garcia and Deputy Esteban Hernandez with the Harris County Sheriff’s Office, Texas.
Attorney General Merrick B. Garland today announced the Justice Department is now accepting nominations for the Seventh Annual Attorney General’s Award for Distinguished Service in Community Policing. These awards represent part of the Justice Department’s ongoing commitment to support the nation’s law enforcement officers who put their lives on the line every day to keep our communities safe.
The Attorney General’s Award recognizes individual state, local, and Tribal sworn, rank- and-file police officers and deputies for exceptional efforts in community policing. The awarded officers, deputies, and troopers will have demonstrated active engagement with the community in one of three areas: criminal investigations, field operations, or innovations in policing. Within each category, an award will be given to law enforcement agencies serving small, medium, and large jurisdictions. Those agency sizes are defined as:
- Small: agencies serving populations of fewer than 50,000;
- Medium: agencies serving populations of 50,000 to 250,000; and
- Large: agencies serving populations of more than 250,000.
By acknowledging and rewarding these efforts, the Department strives to promote and sustain its national commitment to community policing and to advance proactive policing practices that are fair and effective. With the Attorney General’s Award for Distinguished Service in Community Policing, the Office of the Attorney General recognizes that the nation’s law enforcement agencies, officers, deputies, and troopers continue to work tirelessly to keep our communities safe places to live and work.
The deadline for nominations is May 6 at 8 p.m. ET. More information and the application for nominees can be found at www.justice.gov/ag/policing-award.
