 Welcome to the Sanders County Sheriff's Office website and thank you for taking the time and interest to visit.
The office will be updating this site on a regular basis to reflect current and upcoming issues in Sanders County Law Enforcement.
If you have question please email the department. Gene Arnold |
SHERIFF'S OFFICE AT 827-3584
NEWS RELEASE
For Immediate Release: Contact:
Krista Standeford
Environmental Prevention Officer
406-546-4269
Alcohol a focus at the Sanders County Fair this year.
Local civic groups and Law Enforcement coordinate to
check ID at the beer garden and bring more patrols to the area
during fair weekend.
Sanders County—If you were a patron of the beer garden during the
Sanders County Fair this year you may have noticed a few changes,
brightly colored bracelets, requests for ID and the presence of law
enforcement during the evening hours. Others may have noticed the
increase in numbers of Sheriff’s Deputies patrolling the fair
grounds or the amount of Montana Highway Patrol Officers in the
County.
“ We (Law Enforcement) have already gotten complaint calls about
bonfire parties with minors present, it has been frustrating to
respond only to be told that due to private property laws we are
told to leave…literally the lack of responsibility is appalling. For
months the SCACT has focused on reducing youth access to alcohol
only to have some well informed adults find a “loop hole” that
undermines our efforts to keep kids safe, it doesn’t matter who you
are, allowing teens to get drunk on your watch is illegal.” States a
frustrated County Sheriff, Gene Arnold.
According to Alcohol Compliance Officer, Martin Spring, “County wide
we know the kids are getting alcohol from social sources like older
friends or these home parties. This is a serious concern because
underage drinking in Sanders County has recently been linked to a
rise in sexual assaults, it is a difficult part of this job to
respond to what seems to be a “normal” woods party and find
someone’s teen that has been injured or violated among friends that
were too drunk to help or care. It’s a difficult call to make home
to a Mom or Dad, no parent wants to woken up by a call from the
Sheriff’s office but imagine the dread they must feel upon learning
of their young daughter or son’s sexual assault, being a father
myself, that’s just a tough call to make.”
This has community members concerned. Donald Damschen, MD, a Sanders
County Surgeon, contends, “The prevalence of underage drinking in
this (Sanders) County is too serious to ignore. But many people seem
to feel that underage drinking is a right of passage and always will
be. A common view is it’s not a big deal, but they need think ahead,
I sure do. You see, I may be the one in the emergency when your kid
dies in a crash, is sexually assaulted by a drunk peer or worse a
drunk adult friend. “
Betty Taylor, Plains High School guidance counselor shares, “In my
20 years of working in schools, I have seen a number of teens, that
because of alcohol, are engaging in unprotected sex or gets pregnant
and wants to drops out of school – these things are all related to
underage drinking and they are forever life changing events, it
can’t be ignored.”
Factors that can effect underage drinking include the level of
enforcement of underage drinking laws and the willingness of adults
to give alcohol to minors. When underage drinking laws are well
enforced, underage drinking goes down. The SCACT feels that each
town has shown vigilance in response to youth parties through party
patrols, coordinated compliance checks and awareness. However,
enforcement cannot be solely responsible for combating underage
drinking. They must have the support of a community of adults who
are unwilling to provide alcohol to minors.
According to Plains Police Chief of Police Shawn Emmett, “law
enforcement can do everything in our power to protect youth from the
dangers associated with underage drinking, but we need the community
to play a role. We cannot do this alone.”
Shelby Zigler, a parent of six asserts, “We made it a rule not to
provide alcohol to our kids and I would be been very upset if
another adult did. Any time someone provides alcohol to kids they
are increasing danger, they are contributing to crashes, violence
and I for one would be livid if someone’s provision were responsible
for any kid’s sexual assault.”
Sheriff Arnold contends, “more can be done and there are a large
number of community members concerned enough to get involved to make
the changes needed to keep our kids safe.”
So how does a community help? Parents are encouraged to know where
your kids are, keep open communication and provide safe, alcohol
free zones. Parents are also encouraged to have honest conversations
with their teens about the dangers of alcohol use and how the
behavior is illegal for them. Community members are encouraged to
call dispatch if they see an underage party developing. This may
include an unusual amount of traffic for your area. Cardboard bails
or fire wood stacked in inconspicuous out door areas or a more
obvious indicator, minors are asking you to purchase alcohol for
them. The county dispatch can be reach at 827-3584, option 3.
“Recently, I did hear an encouraging story. Some teens were
overheard complaining about how they weren’t going to be able to do
anything this summer because cops are everywhere! That’s music to
this Sheriff’s ears”, exclaimed Sheriff Arnold, “ we hope that
illegal alcohol users and those that provide it to kids are faced
with not being able to do “anything” illegal this summer or ever. “
NEWS RELEASE
For Immediate Release: Contact: Krista Standeford
June 1, 2009 Environmental Preventionist
NW MT Community Change Project
406-546-4269
Warmer
weather increases drinking in
Sanders County
Local law enforcement dealing with onslaught of crimes caused by
illegal alcohol use
Sanders County— On a typical Friday night in sunny Sanders County
you will find Sheriff Gene Arnold and a group of deputies out on
“party patrols.”
“As the weather gets warmer and days get longer the county’s alcohol
related incidents escalate to a ridiculous point. It is beyond
dangerous,” said Martin Spring, Sanders County Alcohol Compliance
Team (SCACT) officer.
The party patrols developed for Memorial Day weekend were headed up
by Deputy Spring of the Sheriff’s office and assisted by officers
from Plains, Thompson Falls and Hot Springs Police Departments as
well as Forest Service and game wardens from Fish, Wildlife and
Parks. With the recent success of SCACT Compliance Check program and
the efforts of Responsible Alcohol Server Training, (RAST) area
youth continue to access alcohol from adult sources.
“ We (local law enforcement) have already gotten complaint calls
about bonfire parties with minors present, it has been frustrating
to respond only to be told that it’s private property are we told to
leave. Literally, the lack of responsibility is appalling. For a
month the SCACT has focused on reducing youth access to alcohol only
to have some well informed adults find a “loop hole” that undermines
our efforts to keep kids safe. It doesn’t matter who you are,
allowing teens to get drunk on your watch is illegal,” said a
frustrated Sheriff, Gene Arnold.
“County wide we know the kids are getting alcohol from social
sources like older friends or these home parties. This is a serious
concern because underage drinking in Sanders County has recently
been linked to a rise in sexual assaults. It is a difficult part of
this job to respond to what seems to be a “normal” woods party and
find someone’s teen that has been injured or violated, often in the
presence of friends that were too drunk to help or care. It’s a
difficult phone call to make to a mom or dad,” Spring said. “No
parent wants to be awakened by a call from the Sheriff’s office but
imagine the dread they must feel upon learning of their young
daughter’s sexual assault. Being a father myself, that’s just a
tough call to make.”
This has community members concerned. Donald Damschen, MD, a Sanders
County surgeon, contends, “The prevalence of underage drinking in
this county is too serious to ignore. But many people seem to feel
that underage drinking is a right of passage and always will be. A
common view is it’s not a big deal, but they need to think ahead. I
may be the one in the emergency room when your kid dies in a crash,
is sexually assaulted by a drunk peer, or worse a drunk adult
friend.”
School officials also have to deal with the effects of underage
drinking.
“In my 20 years of working in schools, I have seen a number of
teens, that because of alcohol, are engaging or being forced to
engage in, inappropriate unprotected sex or getting pregnant and
wanting to drop out of school. These things are all related to
underage drinking and they are forever life changing events, that
can’t be ignored,” said Betty Taylor, Plains High School guidance
counselor.
Factors that can effect underage drinking include the level of
enforcement of underage drinking laws and the willingness of adults
to give alcohol to minors. When underage drinking laws are well
enforced, underage drinking goes down. The SCACT feels that each
town has shown vigilance in response to youth parties through party
patrols, coordinated compliance checks and awareness. However, local
law enforcement cannot be solely responsible for combating underage
drinking. They must have the support of a community of adults who
are unwilling to provide alcohol to minors.
According to Plains Police Chief of Police Shawn Emmett, “Law
enforcement can do everything in our power to protect youth from the
dangers associated with underage drinking, but we need the community
to play a role. We cannot do this alone.”
Shelby Zigler, a parent of six, asserts, “We made it a rule not to
provide alcohol to our kids and I would be very upset if another
adult did. Anytime someone provides alcohol to kids they are
increasing danger, they are contributing to vehicle crashes and
violence, and I for one would be livid if someone provided alcohol
that was responsible for any kid’s sexual assault.”
“More can be done and there are a large number of community members
concerned enough to get involved to make the changes needed to keep
our kids safe,” Sheriff Arnold noted.
So how does a community help? Parents are encouraged to know where
your kids are, keep open communication and provide safe, alcohol
free zones. Parents are also encouraged to have honest conversations
with their teens about the dangers of alcohol use and how it is
illegal for them to drink alcohol. Community members are encouraged
to call county dispatchers if they see an underage party developing.
This may include an unusual amount of traffic for your area.
Cardboard bails or firewood stacked in inconspicuous out door areas
or a more obvious indicator. They should also call if minors are
asking you to purchase alcohol for them. The county dispatch can be
reach at 827-3584, option 3.
“Recently, I did hear an encouraging story. Some teens were
overheard complaining about how they weren’t going to be able to do
anything this summer because cops are everywhere. That’s music to
this Sheriff’s ears,” exclaimed Sheriff Arnold.
|
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August 2009
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After you review the information I have provided, you will know more about the office, have a clearer understanding of our priorities,
and the approach to law enforcement in Sanders County,
Montana |
