GREEN RIVER — On March 17, Mayor Pete Rust signed an agreement to continue a long-standing partnership between the Green River Police Department (GRPD) and the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI). The agreement brings $100,610 to the department’s efforts in combatting narcotics trafficking in our community.

These funds are part of a larger grant awarded to DCI through the US Department of Justice High
Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) initiative. Funds awarded to GRPD are used to pay the salary,
overtime and benefits for a task force officer working on the DCI Southwest Drug Enforcement Team. Costs to the city for this position are minimal. Those costs could include a small percentage of benefits if
the cost is above that allowable under the grant, as well as some training and equipment needs.

Chief of Police Tom Jarvie says this and similar grants are an integral part of the department’s narcotics
enforcement efforts. Illicit drug investigations are complex and often span multiple jurisdictions.

“if we did not have the ability to devote a full-time investigator working in conjunction with other
agencies to this effort, we would not be effective investigating those bringing large quantities of
narcotics into our community,” Jarvie said.

Jarvie says participation in the DCI Southwest Drug Enforcement Team enables us and other team
agencies to share equipment and expertise while reducing the likelihood of duplicate investigations on
the same drug trafficking groups.

“Our agency has particularly benefitted over the past few years by leveraging the expertise
of our task force officer in training newer patrol officers on conducting street level narcotics
investigations and this enables our line officers to better recognize investigative opportunities and know
when and how to involve the Southwest Drug Enforcement Team in their case,” Jarvie added.

According to Jarvie, it is important to note that while the program is funded through the US Department of Justice, it does not make our officers federal agents. The task force officer remains an employee of the GRPD and is under GRPD supervision.

Jarvie said task force officers from the agency are chosen in consultation with the DCI
Southwest Drug Enforcement Team Leader. Continued work as a task force officer is dependent upon
work that is satisfactory to both the GRPD and DCI.

He says this partnership has worked very well for the City of Green River throughout the multiple
decades it has been in place. The grants our task force officers work under have saved the city millions
of dollars while strengthening our enforcement efforts.

Jarvie concluded by saying crime does not start and stop at the city limits and neither can
enforcement efforts. Programs like HIDTA are essential to our success and we are grateful for our
continued partnership with DCI in this and other programs.