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The Crescent City Police Department will use a $397,000 California Department of Justice grant to pay for a second school-resources officer to be stationed at Del Norte High School.

With the money coming from the state DOJ’s Tobacco Grant Program, CCPD will use that contract to fund that position through the end of 2025, Chief Richard Griffin told the Wild Rivers Outpost on Thursday.

When that three-year contract ends, the city will use voter-approved Measure S tax dollars to continue the position, Griffin said.

“It’s going to be focused on tobacco enforcement and education, so it’s going to be different than a traditional SRO, but he will still be on scene,” he said. “There’s been a huge problem with vaping at the high school, so it could look like extra patrol through there looking for kids smoking on school grounds or smoking in the bathrooms.”

According to Griffin, when school isn’t in session, the new school-resource officer may also be called upon to provide extra patrol at Beachfront Park, which is a smoke-free park. The officer’s job may also involve ensuring tobacco retailers are in compliance with state and local regulations, according to Griffin.

The first SRO was hired on through a contract between CCPD and Del Norte Unified School District. A second memorandum of understanding between the police department and school district will also be necessary for the new SRO, Griffin said.

Measure S is the 1 percent sales tax increase city voters approved in November 2020. The extra tax is expected to generate an extra $1.3 million in revenue that would be used for public safety, including hiring more CCPD officers, fund road repairs and help ensure the Fred Endert Municipal Pool continues to operate.

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