The Yuba County Sheriff’s Department hopes to more efficiently identify criminal activity along local waterways with the help of a grant from Yuba Water Agency.
The $5,000 grant, approved today by the agency as a part of the Bill Shaw Rescue Equipment and Training Grant Program, will help the sheriff’s office purchase one unmanned aerial vehicle, also commonly referred to as a drone.
The drone will be used for overflights on public lands and waterways around the agency’s Yuba River Development Project, to locate illegal marijuana grows and other criminal activity, as well as to help prevent officers from being injured while investigating remote areas.
“This will directly benefit the quality and quantity of our water by helping keep harmful chemicals often used in these illegal marijuana operations out of the watershed,.” said Yuba Water Agency Vice-Chairman Randy Fletcher. ”
“This specialized equipment will allow us to more easily access the remote areas and rugged terrain near the Yuba River and in the foothills, and will keep our officers safer while investigating suspicious activities in those areas,” said Yuba County Sheriff’s Sgt. Brandon Spear.
This is another local agency to benefit from Yuba Water Agency’s Bill Shaw Rescue Equipment and Training Grant Program, which was created in January, 2018. These grants are designed for first responder agencies in Yuba County and will cover the one-time costs of up to $5,000 per applicant annually, associated with the purchase of rescue equipment or specialized personnel training. The grant program was the idea of, and is named after, and employee who survived a potentially life-threatening injury, and who was extremely grateful for the emergency responders who helped save him.
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