SUPPLEMENTAL FUNDS TO COMBAT BORDER VIOLENCE ANNOUNCED

August 16, 2009 (San Diego) -- Sheriff William D. Gore announced this week that San Diego County will receive an additional $4.9 million in funding from Operation Stonegarden. This is an augmentation of the initial $8.8 million awarded to the region last month. The Operation Stonegarden grant enhances the capabilities of local law enforcement to coordinate with federal, state and local agencies in an effort to deter violence and combat illegal activity along the Southwest Border.

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano made the announcement of $30 million in supplemental awards for Operation Stonegarden yesterday as part of a major speech in El Paso, Texas. California was awarded an additional $7,391,931. In addition to San Diego County’s award, Imperial County will receive an additional $2.3 million for Stonegarden.

The additional Stonegarden grant funds, funded through the Supplemental Appropriations Acts of 2009, were directed to states along the U.S. - Mexico border. San Diego will use these supplemental funds to fund overtime in order to increase the detection of maritime drug smuggling and increase the participation of law enforcement agencies in Operation Stonegarden. The current participants, in addition to the Sheriff’s Department, include the Chula Vista Police Department, San Diego Harbor Police, California Department of Fish and Game, San Diego County Probation Department and California Highway Patrol.

Recognizing no single law enforcement agency has all the resources to contend with border crime, Operation Stonegarden offers the ability to create a layered, comprehensive and integrated approach to border related crime.

The $13.7 million in Operation Stonegarden funding awarded to the San Diego County region for 2009 is more than double the 2008 award of $5.5 million.

“I am very pleased with this supplemental funding,” commented Sheriff Gore. “Border-related crime affects all of us; directly or indirectly. Additional grant funding translates into additional resources to aid law enforcement throughout the county to keep our communities safe.”