Marshall County Commissioners approve Criminal Justice Grant for overtime patrols

The Marshall County Commissioners on Monday ratified the county auditor's and sheriff's signatures for the Indiana Criminal Justice Grant, a federally funded program that reimburses the county for overtime and extra patrols during high-travel holiday weekends.

Detective Les McFarland with the Marshall County Sheriff's Department appeared before the commissioners seeking ratification. He said the grant is especially helpful given the department's staffing shortages, offsetting overtime costs that the federal government reimburses.

"This is extremely helpful at this time, with being short-handed, and helps with overtime costs that the federal government reimburses the county for," McFarland said.

McFarland explained that while the grant funds come through the sheriff's department, they are available countywide, allowing other police agencies in the county to participate in the program and receive reimbursement for additional patrols under Operation Pullover and the DUI Task Force.

County Auditor Angie Birchmeier said the grant funds were increased to $80,500.

"This is a great program that puts officers out on the roadway for high-impact weekends of travel and offsets the cost of overtime to the county," McFarland said.

Commissioner Jesse Bohannon asked whether the program involves pulling drivers over randomly or conducting DUI checkpoints without probable cause or reasonable suspicion. He expressed support for additional officers on the road during high-travel times but wanted clarification on the methods used.

McFarland said DUI checkpoints are very manpower-consuming and noted the shortage of police officers within the county, particularly in the sheriff's department. He said the grant instead funds officers for extra patrol areas focused on traffic enforcement, slowing traffic down, and traffic stops. To his knowledge, there have been no DUI checkpoints in the county for a number of years.

The commissioners approved ratification of the sheriff's and auditor's signatures on the traffic safety grant.