Local sheriff shares details of "Contract Policing" for several Cass County towns

(Cass County, ND) -- Multiple local communities that don't have official police departments have another option when it comes to providing a presence in their areas. 

Cass County Sheriff Jesse Jahner joined The Coffee Club to share more details on how they provide a service similar to police departments in Fargo and West Fargo. The Sheriff says a vast majority of the cities and towns in the county cannot afford to pay for all of the materials, equipment, and the costs of staffing the department all at once. Jahner says through a deal between the cities and Cass County Government, the costs are then split between the two different entities. The city takes the cost of employing the deputy provided by the sheriff's department, and the county pays for the equipment the employee will use while on the job. 

"It gets me more staff [and] I have more people out on the street, " said Sheriff Jesse Jahner, speaking on the benefits of cooperating with the towns,"If I have a contracted out in Casselton, I have a contracted person in Kindred, a contracted person in Horace and one in Mapleton -in addition to all the other staff that I have out- Now I got people strategically out in different parts of the county that can respond to calls for service."

The Four towns in Cass County contract with the sheriff's office to provide additional patrols within those communities. Of the six employed contracted staff; some work in a full time capacity (40hrs per week), one works 20 hours a week, and one works 10 hours per week. Prospective employees are found by the Sheriff's Office for this specific purpose, but receive all the training of a typical deputy. Once they are fully hired, the employees then patrol in the outlined areas based on their assigned roles.