WASHINGTON - Attorney General Loretta Lynch is announcing Justice Department grants to help police departments across the country hire new officers.

The $119 million in funding is being announced in Dallas on Monday at the start of National Community Policing Week. Other events during the week include a town hall discussion on diversity in policing and an awards ceremony.

The grants are being awarded to 184 law enforcement agencies across the country and are intended to create or protect more than 900 positions.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Lynch says events like the Dallas shooting of officers this summer "have raised the visibility of this issue." A sniper killed five Dallas police officers at a protest in July. The city is to receive $3.1 million to hire 25 officers.