City of Columbia Awarded $1.3 Million Violent Crime Intervention Fund Grant.

The City of Columbia is proud to announce that the Columbia Police Department has been awarded $1,300,000 through the State of Tennessee’s Violent Crime Intervention Fund (VCIF), administered by the Department of Finance & Administration’s Office of Criminal Justice Programs (OCJP).

“The VCIF program provides critical resources for communities across Tennessee to enhance public safety,” said Assistant Police Chief Jeremy Haywood. “This funding will allow us to expand investigative capabilities and equip our officers with advanced technology and modernized tools to respond more effectively to criminal offenses.”

The State of Tennessee allocated $75 million in the 2025–26 budget to support VCIF grants for law enforcement agencies statewide, including local police departments and drug task forces, to strengthen efforts to prevent and reduce violent crime. VCIF grants fund evidence-based programs, technology, infrastructure, and other initiatives designed to enhance strategies addressing violent crime. In Columbia, the $1.3 million award will be used to upgrade surveillance systems, enhance forensic capabilities, and provide state-of-the-art protective equipment for officers, improving investigative capacity and ensuring personnel can operate even more safely and efficiently in the field.

This $1.3 million award follows closely after the City’s recent $758,681 Community Development Block Grant for drainage improvements, a pair of significant investments that City Manager Tony Massey said “make it feel a little like Christmas came early for Columbia.” Together, these grant successes reflect the City’s continued commitment to aggressively pursuing external funding opportunities that strengthen services, support community needs, and help ease the financial burden on local taxpayers.