One way to pay for cops in schools: using asset forfeiture money
Sheriff proposes school resource officer plan using asset forfeiture money
WOODSTOCK - Shenandoah County could keep law enforcement in all of its public schools under a deal the sheriff proposed this week.
Sheriff Timothy C. Carter explained to the Board of Supervisors at its work session Thursday night that if the county continued to provide some funding for school resource officers, his agency would supplement the rest of the cost.
Carter used the model the board initiated weeks ago under which the county allocated $50,000 to help cover the cost to put deputies in the schools without resource officers for the remaining 80 days of the year. The sheriff explained that his proposal would call for the county to continue that funding through the 180 days of the next school year. In exchange, the Sheriff's Office would provide supplementary funding to cover the remaining costs to employ resource officers at all 10 schools.
The sheriff also noted that such a deal should span at least five years, attempting to belay concerns that the county would need to find a way to fund the positions after the first year. The Sheriff's Office also would cover the cost of equipment for the officers, such as vehicles.
Carter proposed his office would use money collected through asset forfeiture. He told board members he had contacted officials in the agency that handles asset forfeiture and they confirmed on Tuesday the Sheriff's Office may use that money to supplement the salaries for the additional resource officers. Carter added that the official sources determined such a use of funds would not constitute as supplanting, which is strictly forbidden under the rules of asset forfeiture.
http://www.nvdaily.com/news/2013/03/sheriff-poses-school-officer-plan.php
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