Posted by: Media Relations

Sheriff Mike Boudreaux is proud to announce the Tulare County Sheriff’s Department's participation in an innovative inter-departmental program known as the “Closing the Circle (CTC) to Reduce Crime and Delinquency” program.   

The program comes as a result of Tulare County being awarded a $2.1 million grant over three years.  The funding source for the grant comes from the State and Community Corrections using federal Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance (JAG) funds to California from the U.S. Department of Justice.

This program, shared with the Tulare County Office of Education, Tulare County Public Defender’s Office, Exeter Police Department, Farmersville Police Department, and ProYouth HEART program, uses a committee comprised of criminal justice, education and non-profit organizations focused on prevention and education. 

Middle school students are the focus of the educational aspect of the program, where both in-school and after school programs will be utilized to focus on students that are at risk, identified by certain behaviors and behavioral patterns such as aggressive and impulsive behavior. These programs will be implemented primarily in “court and community” campuses in the Exeter, Farmersville, Waukena, and Earlimart areas. 

Additional assistance will be available to students that are identified as being at “high risk”, including students mandated to attend the County’s “court and community” schools by the Tulare County court system.   ProYouth HEART, a local non-profit program well known for its after-school programs, will assist with implementation of the evidence-based curriculum in participating communities.  Crime suppression, coordinated by the Tulare County Sheriff’s Department, is the second primary focus of the program. 

Crime Suppression Task Force’s will focus on youth and young adult crime in and around the communities containing the “court and community” campuses, and the Task Force will be composed of law enforcement officers from the Sheriff’s Department, Exeter Police Department, and Farmersville Police Department. Crime analysis will be utilized in identifying crime trends and supplying data to assist in enforcement efforts. 

Overall, the program is designed to effectively utilize the multiple resources available in this county, both law enforcement and education. If an educator were to find information or have reasonable suspicion that criminal activity is taking place, they would reach out to the crime prevention units. In turn, crime prevention units would refer youth to the appropriate education centers and program as needed. These complementary efforts will help “close the circle” as the program’s name suggests. 

All of these efforts are to take place in the first year of the program, with the reach and scope of it growing in years two and three to include other campuses and other communities within Tulare County. This program will be accompanied by efforts of the Office of Education to add after-school programs in rural communities where the program will eventually be implemented.