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RPI Eligibility Instructions

RPI Eligibility

The Rural Policing Institute (RPI) funds training programs for qualified law enforcement officers and other emergency responders located in rural areas.  “Rural” is defined as any area outside of a metropolitan statistical area (MSA), as defined by the Office of Management and Budget; or any jurisdiction inside of a MSA located in a county, borough, parish or land under the jurisdiction of an Indian Tribe with a population of no more than 50,000.

There are two ways an officer or emergency responder can qualify for RPI-funded training:

a. Work for an agency located outside of a Metropolitan Statistical Area
    OR
b. Work for an agency that serves a jurisdiction with a population of no more than 50,000

If your agency does not qualify based on (a) above, you should check to see if it qualifies based on (b), and vice versa. The instructions below provide step-by-step procedures for determining eligibility based on these two criteria.

Procedures to Determine Eligibility

A. To determine if your agency is located outside of a Metropolitan Statistical Area

  1. Visit the US Census Bureau QuickFacts
  2. From the drop-down menu to the left of the map, select the state in which your agency is located and click “Go”.
  3. From the drop-down menu labeled “Select a County”, select the county in which your agency is located and click “Go”.
  4. Scroll down to the last line in the table that reads “Metropolitan or Micropolitan Statistical Area”. Look to the right of this column.
    1. If the middle column lists a “City/State Micro Area” or “None”, your agency is eligible for RPI-funded training.
    2. If the middle column lists a “City/State Metro Area”, your agency is not eligible based on this specific criterion. However, you should check to see if it is eligible based on the size of the population served. (See B below)

B. To determine if your agency serves a population of no more than 50,000

There are different procedures based on whether you work for a local department or a countywide agency.  If you work for a local department, please follow the first set of instructions in this section. If you work for a countywide agency, such as a Sherriff’s Department, please follow the second set of instructions in this section.

If you work for a local police department or local emergency response agency:

  1. Visit the US Census Bureau QuickFacts
  2. Select your state and click “Go”
  3. In the second column, you will see a drop-down menu labeled “Select a City”. From here, do one of the following:
    1. If your city is listed in the “Select a City” drop-down menu:
      • Select your city and click “Go”.
      • The first line of the table that appears will list the city’s population. If the population is no more than 50,000, your agency is eligible for RPI-funded training.
    2. If your city is not listed in the “Select a City” drop-down menu:
      • Click on the link labeled “More (State Name) data sets” to the right.
      • Towards the middle of the page, find the Excel file under the heading “Population Estimates” and select “Places in (State Name) listed alphabetically” [Excel]
      • A Excel spreadsheet will display the most current population on the left side of the page. If the population is no more than 50, 000, your agency is eligible for RPI-funded training. If the population is more than 50, 000, you should check to see if it is eligible based on its location outside of Metropolitan Statistical Area. See (A) above.

If you work for an agency that serves an entire county, such as a Sherriff’s Department:

  1. Visit the US Census Bureau QuickFacts
  2. Select your state from the drop-down menu and click “Go”.
  3. From the drop-down menu labeled “Select a County”, select the county in which your agency is located and click “Go”.
  4. The first line of the table shows the county’s population.  If it is no more than 50,000, your agency is eligible for RPI-funded training. If the population is more than 50,000, you should check to see if it is eligible based on its location outside of Metropolitan Statistical Area. See (A) above.

Additional Information

If you have any questions about determining eligibility for RPI-funded training, please email us at FLETC-RuralPolicingInstitute@dhs.gov.  You should check your agency’s eligibility for RPI-funded training based on both possible criteria – location outside of a Metropolitan Statistical Area or size of population served.