The San Benito County Sheriff’s Department will hire three new
officers and implement several new programs after a last-minute act
giving $500,000 to rural sheriff’s offices was signed into the
state’s budget on Saturday.
The San Benito County Sheriff’s Department will hire three new officers and implement several new programs after a last-minute act giving $500,000 to rural sheriff’s offices was signed into the state’s budget on Saturday.
Sheriff Curtis Hill plans to use the money to hire a deputy, a correctional officer and a much-needed school resource officer for San Benito High School, he said. The three new positions will bump the department up to 26 sworn officers.
The money allotted to the department through the Rural County Crime Prevention Act was first given to rural departments across the state three years ago, but was taken away last year because the state couldn’t afford it, Hill said.
Within the next few months, Hill will use the money to start a diversity program to keep all employees abreast of the changing demographics within the community, purchase taser guns for all deputies, and conduct a study to determine what needs to happen to construct a new sheriff’s office and expand the county jail within the next couple years, he said.
“I want our agency to be available to everyone in the community,” he said. “We’ll find what kind of changes we need to make to be responsible to what the needs are and that’s very important.”
The three new positions Hill has already started recruiting for are the most important additions the prevention act money allows the department to make, he said.
There is only one deputy assigned to the south county area, and having a second deputy will cut down on overtime when an additional deputy is needed in that area, Hill said.
The deputy also can work with rural schools performing the duties of a school resource officer, he said.
Hiring another correctional officer in a jail that is growing more crowded by the day will help keep order and provide better safety for both inmates and other correctional officers, Hill said.
And a school resource officer provides more security on campus, is able to resolve conflicts immediately and is a great form of crime prevention, he said.
“An opportunity to get additional deputies only adds to the protection of the public,” Hill said. “Being able to add a correctional officer only aids in appropriately managing the jail, but most important, we’re able to have three additional staff members working for the community.”
The school district lost its school resource officer through the Hollister Police Department several months ago because of budget restraints. The sheriff’s department has been trying to put a deputy at the school for seven years but hasn’t been able to work it out financially, Hill said.
Superintendent Jean Burns-Slater called Hill last week to inform him the school district was willing to give $150,000 over the next three years toward having a full-time school resource officer at the school, Hill said.
“It just happened to be right when we were doing this, so now we’ll be able to fill that need the high school has,” he said.
Burns-Slater was not available for comment.
But Hollister Police Chief Jeff Miller said bringing back a police presence to the school is a positive thing for everyone involved.
A law enforcement officer can quickly address issues involving student safety if there is a fight or someone brings a weapon to school, he said. An officer also can consult in matters of law if someone creates a disturbance or commits a crime on campus, Miller said.
“Kids get to know that the officer has a personality – it’s not just a faceless name behind a badge – they’re someone to talk to, to ask questions to and to seek help from,” he said. “It helps break down the stereotype of we versus them.”
Three years ago the state began allotting money to 37 rural counties around California through the prevention act. When it was discontinued last year, Hill didn’t expect to see the money come back.
If the money is again taken away again, Hill will have to lay off the newly hired employees, he said.
“We’re back in business, but I fully anticipate that every year we’ll have to fight for that money,” Hill said. “And that’s OK. We’ll be fighting every year like we did before.”
