February 19, 2020
Police contract bodes well for White Shield
By JILL DENNING GACKLE
If one man’s loss is another main’s gain, then White Shield residents are in the win column.
When Garrison forfeited a contracted with the McLean County Sheriff’s Department in November, White Shield tribal officials gave the green light to having the service shift west. MHA Nation pays $160,000 a year for 19 hours a day of officers to patrol their streets and work with the tribal police. The White Shield segment, which runs north to Deepwater Bay and the county line, and then south to the lake, signed up for services where the county officers patrol and work with them on investigations.
“It’s going really well,” said Fred Fox, councilman and representative for the White Shield East Segment. “The presence is very valuable to us. The ones that we’re trying to hit on are the drugs and the drug activity. Having them out there is a valuable tool to us.”
Fox said the tribal police struggled to adequately staff the police force because of a professional housing shortage.
“If you don’t have housing, you can’t recruit professionals,” he said.
Now the department has officers coming in from elsewhere in the county, in an effort to keep crime out and residents safe.
When Garrison forfeited a contracted with the McLean County Sheriff’s Department in November, White Shield tribal officials gave the green light to having the service shift west. MHA Nation pays $160,000 a year for 19 hours a day of officers to patrol their streets and work with the tribal police. The White Shield segment, which runs north to Deepwater Bay and the county line, and then south to the lake, signed up for services where the county officers patrol and work with them on investigations.
“It’s going really well,” said Fred Fox, councilman and representative for the White Shield East Segment. “The presence is very valuable to us. The ones that we’re trying to hit on are the drugs and the drug activity. Having them out there is a valuable tool to us.”
Fox said the tribal police struggled to adequately staff the police force because of a professional housing shortage.
“If you don’t have housing, you can’t recruit professionals,” he said.
Now the department has officers coming in from elsewhere in the county, in an effort to keep crime out and residents safe.
