District Attorney John Sarsfield will soon seek to use money
seized from convicted drug dealers to provide counseling services
for victims and witnesses who come through his office.
Hollister – District Attorney John Sarsfield will soon seek to use money seized from convicted drug dealers to provide counseling services for victims and witnesses who come through his office.
Sarsfield is hoping the San Benito County Board of Supervisors will approve a transfer of funds from the district attorney’s drug dealer asset forfeiture fund to contract with Community Solutions, a local nonprofit agency that counsels rape and domestic violence victims, juvenile offenders and their families and others.
“Basically this is to provide victim support services outside the role of what’s currently provided, to get some additional counseling services,” Sarsfield said.
Sarsfield had originally planned to ask the supervisors to approve a $4,200 transfer of drug dealer asset forfeiture funds to pay for a professional coffee service that would bring coffee and hot chocolate into the office every morning for victims and witnesses. However, the office decided to pull that idea off the county supervisors’ agenda on Tuesday morning before the vote, reasoning the counseling services would be more useful.
Board of supervisors Chairman Reb Monaco said Wednesday he was aware Sarsfield had pulled the original $4,200 request but hadn’t heard anything about what he might try to use the funding for instead.
The district attorney’s drug dealer asset forfeiture fund currently has about $10,000, Sarsfield said, all of which could be spent on Community Solutions counseling fees if need be, and if the board of supervisors approve the expenditure. Other agencies such as the county sheriff’s office and the Unified Narcotics Enforcement Team also have accounts of dealer asset forfeiture money, he said.
While it’s up to each individual agency’s discretion what the money will be used for, it has to be used to “enhance taxpayer money,” Sarsfield said. In other words, it’s supposed to be used to buy equipment or services the office normally wouldn’t be able to afford on its own, so the government can’t cut an office’s budget just because they have dealer asset forfeiture money, he said.
In the past, the district attorney’s office has used the funds to for projects like outfitting its waiting area with a new TV.
“My thought was, what better use of drug dealer money than giving it back to the victims?” Sarsfield said.
Sarsfield said Wednesday he’s working on getting a contract set up with Community Solutions, and will request the approval of the fund transfer of up to $10,000 at a supervisors’ meeting some time in the next few weeks. According to Community Solutions President and Chief Executive Officer Erin O’Brien, the discussions with Sarsfield’s office were still “extremely preliminary.”
“I love the idea though,” she said. “There certainly is way more need than there are services, and I think it’s hugely important that people get served in their own community because having to drive out of town can be a big barrier for some people.”
Jessica Quandt covers politics for the Free Lance. Reach her at 831-637-5566 ext. 330 or at jq*****@fr***********.com.
