Forensic
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some of the property crimes.” The forensic kits also come with signage to display at properties and on vehicles to warn would-be thieves. The sheriff’s department even shows advertisements of the technology in its booking cells, airing videos so that detain- ees know items stolen in the county can be traced. “We bought the whole program,” Dowdy
Sept. 20 deadline set for specialty crop block grants The California Department of Food and Agriculture is accepting proposals for grant awards ranging from $100,000 to $250,000 under its Additional Assistance for Historically Underrepresented Organizations Program. The program funds projects lasting up to two years and eight months for fruits and vegetables, tree nuts, dried fruits, horticul- ture, and nursery and floriculture crops. It is offered in conjunction with the Specialty Crop Block Grant Program. Information may be found online by searching 2024 SCBGP Additional Assistance Program Request for Concept Proposals. Applications are due by Sept. 20 and must be delivered via email to grants@cdfa.ca.gov. “We ask them to stand up and turn around, and we turn on the UV light,” Dowdy said. “That prompts them to ask, ‘What’s that for?’ So the correctional staff gets an opportunity to tell that story (about the forensic technology and UV tracking), and it’s just part of the education process. “I’m proud of our community in the sense that we were able to come to- gether and bring it to our community,” Dowdy said. (Kathy Coatney is a reporter in Bend, Oregon. She may be contacted at kacoatney@gmail.com.) and displays signage on the ranch adver- tising his use of the technology. Russ Heryford, a rancher and owner of South Fork Valley Ranch in Modoc County, also began using the forensic material after he was burglarized. “We had a lot of stuff taken,” Heryford said, adding some of the items were recovered. “They didn’t steal any large equipment,” Heryford said. “They caused a lot of dam- age, but they were unable to steal the Jeep. If they got the Jeep going, they would have stolen my welding trailer.” Instead, he said, the thieves “just started gathering parts and pieces.” They had entered through a back gate. Now Heryford has placed stickers on his belongings and the sign on the gate letting potential criminals know what they take can be traced. “They give you a lot of stickers, too, so we stickered stuff we didn’t even paint as a deterrent,” Heryford said. Myles Flournoy, a cattle rancher and president of the Modoc County Cattlemen’s Association, said one kit is generally enough for a medium-sized ranch. “It’s a good tool to have,” Flournoy said. “Not a fix all, but just another tool to put in our bag of tricks.” At the Modoc County jail, an infared lighting display awaits suspects in the booking area.
said. “We have a monitor in our booking cell. We have an infrared light in our book- ing cells and the video explaining how SmartWater/SmartTrace works.” Since Nader purchased the kit, he said he hasn’t had any more thefts. “It’s just another tool for us in our quest to make our ranch more secure,” Nader said. Nader said he has used the tracing solu- tion on as many as 60 items on the ranch
So far about a dozen California counties have adopted the technology. “I think it’s a very progressive way to help curb crime in our county,” said Modoc County Sheriff Tex Dowdy. “I ac- tually have one of our deputies assigned to the California Rural Crimes Prevention Task Force, and this is just one of those tools that we’re going to use to help curb
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16 Ag Alert August 16, 2023
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