Sheriff’s Office to Receive Funding for Victim Services Volunteer Program

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The Pinal County Sheriff’s Office has received verbal notification that they are approved for additional funding from the National Sheriff’s Association to continue the Victim Services Volunteer Program. The notification came after representatives from the NSA conducted a site visit at the Sheriff’s Office on Wednesday, October 6th. The NSA was pleased with the progress that had been made on this project and believes that the program is going to be successful.

The Victim Services Volunteer Program is a partnership between the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office, the Pinal County Attorney’s Office of Victim Services and other volunteer programs in Pinal County, including the Casa Grande Police Department Volunteer Program. Ann Bagnall, the Director of Victim Services, said “I am excited about this opportunity to partner with the Sheriff’s Office to expand services to victims in Pinal County.”

This grant provided $30,000 in funding to conduct a needs assessment of victim services in Pinal County and to hire a part time person to manage and develop the program for possible implementation. The additional funds just approved are in the amount of $105,000 for actually implementing the volunteer program and getting the services out to the victims in the county. Some funds will also be used to evaluate the success of the program.

Sheriff Roger Vanderpool stated “The National Sheriff’s Association has recognized the collaborative efforts between us and other agencies in the county to provide additional services to our citizens. This is part of our continuing efforts to be the best Sheriff’s Office in the State of Arizona.”

The Pinal County Sheriff’s Office was one of only 10 law enforcement agencies in the nation to receive funds under this grant.