Title
Approve and authorize the Sheriff or Undersheriff to apply for, as the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office, a twenty-five month (June 1, 2018 to June 30, 2020) competitive grant to the California Department of Justice (CDOJ) for the Tobacco Law Enforcement Grant Program in the amount of $341,534.00 for Fiscal Year 2018-19, $325,815.00 for Fiscal Year 2019-20, for a total grant amount of $667,349.00.
Report
RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended that the Board of Supervisors:
Approve and authorize the Sheriff or Undersheriff to apply for, as the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office, a twenty-five month (June 1, 2018 to June 30th, 2020) competitive grant to the California Department of Justice (CDOJ) for the Tobacco Law Enforcement Grant Program in the amount of $341,534.00 for Fiscal Year 2018-19, $325,815.00 for Fiscal Year 2019-20, for a total grant amount of $667,349.00
SUMMARY:
The Sheriff’s Office seeks approval to apply for a CDOJ grant for Tobacco Law Enforcement in the amount of $667,349.00. This grant is only open to local law enforcement agencies. Based on the County’s budget year, MCSO will begin the grant on July 1, 2018 if awarded and approved. This report seeks only permission to apply for a competitive grant; if the grant is awarded, the Sheriff’s Office will return to your Board, and will request a resolution approving the grant, a Memorandum of Understanding with the California Department of Justice, and any necessary budget adjustments.
DISCUSSION:
The Sheriff’s Office seeks approval to apply for this grant, under the new policies adopted by the Board of Supervisors. A copy of the grant narrative and budget are attached. The grant deadline for submission is March 23, 2018, and the anticipated grant award date is prior to June 1, 2018.
Your Board adopted a strong Tobacco Retail License Policy in May 2012. The Policy sets the Health Department’s Tobacco Control Program as the administrative agency for the ordinance. The policy spells out progressive actions that can be taken if retailers violate any section of the ordinance. The most common infraction of your ordinance is sales of tobacco products to minors.
Sales to minors are uncovered during a process called a youth tobacco purchase survey, where a minor goes into a store and attempts to purchase tobacco products from a tobacco retailer. Based on the Stop Tobacco Access to Kids Enforcement Unit (STAKE Act) and Health Department’s surveys over a thirteen (13) year period, thirty-one percent (31%) of tobacco retailers did sell to minors. The only agents that can issue citations for this violation (and other ordinance violations) are law enforcement officers. Youth are provided with training prior to conducting surveys, and when surveys are conducted by the Sheriff’s Office, minors work in a team with deputies to ensure their safety.
Therefore, to truly enforce your ordinance, and enable its progressive actions, law enforcement must be involved. This grant is being issued by the Department of Justice to provide funding for law enforcement officers for increased surveillance and survey efforts, investigations, and education to reduce teen access to tobacco products. Ninety percent of all adults who smoke today indicated that they began smoking before the age of eighteen.
The Sheriff’s Office has chosen to stress enforcement and frequent surveys/citations to allow for additional measures to be taken against repeat offenders. The education portion of our grant will focus on E-Cigarette/Vaping/JUUL* usage and the dangers associated with those products. This is the largest area of growth in teen tobacco usage, hence the reason we chose it as our educational platform.
*JUUL is a brand of E-Cigarette that resembles a USB flash drive, which makes it easily concealable in a school setting. Each JUUL vape cartridge is less than 1” tall, but carries more nicotine than a package of 20 cigarettes.
OTHER AGENCY INVOLVEMENT:
The Sheriff’s Office received significant assistance and support from the Health Department’s Tobacco Control Program team in formulating this grant. The grant is designed to complement and enhance activities of the Tobacco Retail License Program administered by the Tobacco Control Program with assistance from both the Environmental Health Bureau and the Sheriff’s Office.
FINANCING:
This is a supplement, versus supplant grant, and the revenues received would offset expenses for this grant. If the grant is awarded, budget adjustments will be requested at that time. The grant period runs July 1, 2018 to June 30, 2020. All monies awarded from this grant are coming from Proposition 56 funds. The grant funding will support one full time Deputy Sheriff position and overtime for other Deputy Sheriffs including one School Resource Officer, a Crime Prevention Specialist and a supervisor who oversees the unit.
The County will be required to sign a Memorandum of Understanding with CDOJ if the grant is awarded. A resolution must accompany the grant, and will state that additional monies can be awarded without further board resolution, per the grant documents. If the grant is awarded, and the Board of Supervisors decides at that time that they do not want to accept the grant, the Sheriff’s Office can refuse the award, and the grant dollars will be distributed to other agencies.
BOARD OF SUPERVISORS STRATEGIC INITIATIVES:
This contract meets the Board’s strategic initiatives by:
“Promoting an organization that practices efficient and effective resource management”
Mark a check to the related Board of Supervisors Strategic Initiatives:
Economic Development
X Administration
Health & Human Services
Infrastructure
Public Safety
Prepared by: Nina Ryan, Management Analyst II, Extension #3708
Approved by: Steve Bernal, Sheriff/Coroner, Extension #3750
Attachments: Law Enforcement Tobacco Control Project Grant,
DOJ-PROP56-2017-18-1