SCSO seeks Border Patrol grant

WALLACE –– Captain Seth Green with the Shoshone County Sheriff’s Department met with the Shoshone County Commissioners earlier this month, where they approved his request to pursue a grant from the United States Border Patrol (USBP).  

The Operation Stonegarden Program is a mechanism of the United States Department of Homeland Security, and according to their website, was designed to support enhanced cooperation and coordination among Customs and Border Protection (CBP), United States Border Patrol (USBP), and federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial law enforcement agencies. The program funds joint efforts to secure the United States' borders along routes of ingress from international borders, including travel corridors in states bordering Mexico and Canada, as well as states and territories with international water borders. 

According to Green, the grant request is for $75,000 a year for the next three years, and would be used to fund patrol overtime and additional equipment, including police vehicles. 

He further explained that the Idaho State Police is struggling to recruit troopers, particularly in North Idaho, which has led to reduced patrols along Shoshone County’s stretch of Interstate 90 – Which has become a major route for drug trafficking operations. 

The funds from the grant would allow deputies to work additional hours patrolling along I-90, working closely with USBP – Which has increased their presence in the region over the past few years.  

“They’ve been offering us a ton of assistance – More than I’ve seen in other areas,” Green said. “They’re interested in this region particularly because of I-90 and it goes through.”  

Green told the commissioners that the SCSO’s recent work in immigration and drug enforcement has not gone unnoticed by agencies like USBP, which has even provided some assistance to the sheriff’s office during a few of its operations.  

According to Green, the grant is exceptionally low risk for the county and simply requires that deputies working the overtime patrol hours along the highway fill out additional paperwork detailing their efforts, as well as internal operations planning between SCSO administration and the Border Patrol.  

The commissioners expressed some concern, but Green explained that not only will the county not lose any money, but that the additional equipment purchased through the grant can be used during routine SCSO activities as well.  

This helps ease one of the SCSO’s primary annual budgetary concerns. 

“It would help pay for vehicles we would be buying anyway,” Green said.  

Last year, Operation Stonegarden provided $81 million to state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies.

Grant applications are due in June.