(Sepember 21)  The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department is contributing a full-time clerical worker and overtime compensation for one officer as its part in a multiagency taskforce targeting illicit narcotic distribution activity spanning the border with Riverside County. According to documentation provided to the county board of supervisors by sheriff Rod Hoops and captain Steve Higgins, the Sheriff’s Department will be reimbursed by the federal government up to $47,779.25 for salary and overtime costs related to participation in the Riverside Task Force from September 30, 2012 through September 30, 2013.
The Department has participated in the Riverside Task Force since 1992 as a means of targeting, investigating and prosecuting major drug trafficking organizations in Riverside/San Bernardino Counties.
“The department’s participation in the task force results in better coordination with other agencies involved in major drug trafficking investigations and enhances the prospect of disrupting drug traffic in the area,” Higgins said.
The individual holding the clerical position reimbursed by the U.S. Department of Justice’s Drug Enforcement Administration is provided with a salary of $30,577.00. Overtime costs for one safety position assigned to the task force total $17,202.25. That cost is also picked up by the Drug Enforcement Agency.