The Bourbon County Sheriff’s Office is the recipient of a grant to assist local and area law enforcement agencies in controlling criminal drug activities, which have increased.

On September 30, 2021, the Kansas Criminal Justice Coordinating Council reviewed 45 grant applications that were requesting money to either start, support, or maintain current law enforcement services, Bourbon County Sheriff Bill Martin said.

“This was a very competitive process where some entities and agencies were not awarded their requested grant,” Martin said.

“We requested $123,040 but was awarded $113,292,” he said.

“The newly created position will assist local and area law enforcement agencies in criminal drug activities (cases),” he said.

“The Bourbon County Sheriff’s Office is excited and very grateful in receiving this grant and we hope to have the drug deputies in place by December of this year,” Martin said.

“Deputies interested in applying for the position will have to submit a resume and … go in front of oral interview board that will consist of local representatives and area sheriffs,” Martin said.

The sheriff currently has nine road deputies that work 12-hour shifts, and one School Resource Officer.  They cover the 642 square miles of Bourbon County.

This grant created two more positions, Martin said.

Illegal drug activity has increased significantly.

There is a need for more help with illegal drug activity law enforcement in Bourbon County, Martin said.

“Drug cases have doubled from 56 total cases in 2018 to 110 cases in 2019,” Martin said.

“The number of controlled narcotic pills seized has already risen from 60 dosage units in 2019 to 343 dosage units in 2020.”

This is an increase of over five-fold.

“Oxycodone, oxycontin, hydrocodone, and fentanyl being the biggest narcotic drug that law enforcement is dealing with nationwide,” Martin said.  “Make sure you hide the (prescription) medication (you take) or keep it with you.”

“In 2019, 10.67 ounces meth was seized; in 2020 10.74 ounces of meth was seized, and 38.7 ounces was seized in the first half of this year,” he said.  This is three times the number of the total of last year.

“In 2019, of heroin, .16 ounces were recovered.  In 2020, 4.5 grams of heroin was recovered,” Martin said.

That is four times as numerous as the previous year.

About the KCJCC Grant

Governor Laura Kelly, on behalf of the KCJCC, announced on October 21 that more than $2 million will be awarded as part of the 2022 grant awards for the Federal Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Program.

The KCJCC oversees the criminal justice federal funding made available to Kansas through the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice  Assistance.

The U.S. Department of Justice is committed to advancing work that promotes civil rights,  increases access to justice, supports crime victims, protects the public from crime and evolving threats, and builds trust between law enforcement and the community.

Specifically,  JAG awards are made to local, state, and nonprofit agencies to fund prevention activities; equipment and technology needs; and programs designed to reduce crime, decrease recidivism rates, and provide crime victim services.

A total of $2,396,959 was awarded to 25 agencies, according to the press release.