Sheriffs worry as federal law enforcement funding dries up

Patrols drop as federal managers shift to one federal ranger

By Milo Dailey, Belle Fourche Post & Bee | Sunday, October 05, 2008

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Patrols drop as federal managers shift to one federal rangerA change in federal funding has reduced law enforcement at Belle Fourche Reservoir as annual visitor counts continue to grow.

A $60,000 federal contract that enabled Butte County Sheriff Fred Lamphere to look after activities there was not renewed as of Oct. 1, and Orman Dam's managers at the Bureau of Reclamation have instead pitched in with the Bureau of Land Management to hire a ranger to patrol federal properties in Butte and Meade counties.

Joe Hall, head of resource management for the Bureau of Reclamation in the Dakotas, said it is a matter of available funding and making the best use of taxpayer resources.

He said the agencies will continue cooperating with Lamphere.

"I think a partnership can work," Hall said. "But at this time, we're working with what we have."

So is Lamphere. The loss of $60,000 -- about one fourth of his operating revenue -- cost him a deputy, who had duties beyond Orman. The sheriff said the federal agencies are not yet ready to take over patrolling, and even when that happens, he said his department will still provide dispatching services and investigate certain incidents on the federal land, and the county's taxpayers will fund those activities as well as court and jail expenses for handling lawbreakers.

The remaining deputies won't patrol the lake as frequently as over the past eight years when the federal government paid for the service. Lamphere said he isn't sure how law enforcement there will be handled in the short term, and he is concerned about safety for the growing numbers of users at what are now year-round facilities.

"The bottom line is that right now, in the interim, when there is a call for law enforcement needs out there, I'm not sure what we are going to do," he said. "I will continue to do what we can, but I am limited as well. ... Ethically, when there's a 911 call, we're probably going to respond, but it's going to be hard."

Pennington County Sheriff Don Holloway and Meade County Sheriff Ron Merwin agree with Lamphere that there is an increasing squeeze on counties to cover the costs of law enforcement on public land.

That can affect safety, Holloway said, noting his experience with U.S. Forest Service campgrounds. His department has a $17,000 contract to patrol summer seasonal forest campgrounds in the county.

Before the contracts, Holloway said his office got "morning after" calls from campers reporting thefts and other problems.

"Once we started the patrol functions, we cut that down a lot," Holloway said. "Without a contract, I'm not going to do the prevention work. It's not going to make it as safe a place to be."

He said the federal government, which creates the public facilities, has a responsibility to pay for the cost of preventive law enforcement work.

In Meade County, Merwin said law enforcement coverage on federal property has been an ongoing problem.

"Now, I guess maybe at Fred's expense they have corrected that," Merwin said

The BLM ranger who will be covering Orman also will cover BLM land in Meade County.

That will include the area between Fort Meade and the Black Hills National Cemetery and east of Sturgis on both sides of S.D. Highway 34 in spots nearly to Bear Butte Lake. There is also U.S. Forest Service land, where Merwin also has the responsibility for general law enforcement.

Merwin sends patrols when he can, preferring not to sign a Forest Service contract that he fears has too high a liability.

Federal officials including law enforcement and federal prosecutors want law enforcement on federal land but don't pay for it, Merwin said. Federal officials also don't care to handle the little infractions, he said.

"They don't want to be bogged down with traffic stuff from Fort Meade. They just don't have the time."

Yet it's the little law enforcement issues that add to county law enforcement spending -- kids partying and driving off-road, searches for patients who walk away from Veterans Affairs hospital facilities or minor "fender bender" vehicle accidents at federal campgrounds.

"We are the local people here who are left holding the bag," Merwin said. "We're stuck in the middle because I feel very obligated to do what I can for my constituents and citizens."

Bureau of Reclamation officials acknowledge that under the new arrangement, there are a lot of "nuts and bolts" to be tightened for law enforcement at Orman. But they expect good working procedures will be in place by next year's summer tourist season.

Bureau of Reclamation's Hall said because Rocky Point is managed by the state Game, Fish & Parks Department, the presence of the state staff has helped to cut the number of law enforcement incidents. A meeting Oct. 17 will discuss law enforcement dispatching and other issues.

He said that South Dakota also should look at a way to tax businesses that benefit from tourism to help pay for law-enforcement costs that hit at the county level.

Currently, cities can receive sales tax revenues, but counties do not. South Dakota doesn't have a state income tax, but Hall suggested, "They should."

Hall said "we don't want to go backwards" to a time when many people would bypass Orman because of concerns there was no law enforcement at all.