The Dakota County Sheriff’s Office has applied for a grant from the U.S. Department of Justice. The $450,000 grant, which pays $150,000 annually over three years, would fund a pilot program to more efficiently identify those who violate orders for protection. An order for protection is a civil court order issued against a person accused of domestic abuse to prevent them from having contact with their victim. The grant would allow the county to hire a full-time deputy to enforce orders for protection and to purchase a new squad car and license plate reader. Dakota County Sheriff Tim Leslies talks about what the grant would allow his office to do.
However, if a bill being considered by the state legislature that sets data retention for law enforcement agencies at 30 days does not pass into law, it could make the Sheriff’s Office inelegible for the grant. Sheriff Leslie talks about how the bills passing could effect his proposed program.
