U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

Office of Community Oriented Policing Services

Grant to the Sunflower County, Mississippi, Sheriff's Department

Grant Number 95-CF-WX-3080

GR-40-98-008

March 1998

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The Office of the Inspector General, Audit Division, has completed an audit of a grant awarded by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS), to the Sunflower County, Mississippi, Sheriffs Department. Sunflower County received a grant of $58,603 (No. 95-CF-WX-3080) to hire or rehire one sworn deputy under the Funding Accelerated for Smaller Towns (FAST) program. The purpose of the extra deputy is to enhance community policing efforts.

In brief, Sunflower County was not making a good faith effort to implement community policing efforts. Sunflower County did not perform 14 of the 15 community policing activities described in its grant application. The only activity performed by the two part-time deputies hired under the grant was foot patrol to police the Courthouse facility. Further, neither of the part-time deputies had attended prescribed training and obtained certification by the Mississippi Board on Law Enforcement Officers Standards and Training, and neither had attended community policing training as indicated in the grant application. Accordingly, we question the total grant, $58,603, as unallowable -- $50,256 for which Sunflower County has received reimbursement through December 31, 1997, as unallowable, and we recommend the remaining balance of the grant, $8,347, be deobligated.

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