SACRAMENTO - Cow theft, stolen tractor heads, and irrigation siphoning may not happen in all neighborhoods, but it’s common in the Central Valley. There, criminal activity is as diverse and as violent as it is in neighboring cities, but with special twists found only when living in the farm capital of the state.

But cops don’t have the money or the resources to investigate farm animal theft. Many times, lawn enforcement officers are too busy fighting drug dealers and solving murders. Until recently there was no room in county budgets to answer adequately the demands coming from farmers and ranchers, victims losing millions annually in farm equipment alone.

Enter State Sen. Chuck Poochigian. The Republican legislator from Fresno is fighting to continue the Central Valley Rural Crime Prevention Program, a special crime-fighting system established in 1996 that helped establish multi-law enforcement agency task forces in Fresno, Kern, Kings, Madera, Merced, San Joaquin, Stanislaus, and Tulare counties. These task forces include representatives from county sheriff’s departments, district attorneys’ offices, and agricultural commissioners’ offices.

Poochigian, the legislator who wrote the prevention program bill, is trying to remove the sunset provision in the law before the program expires July 1, 2005. Poochigian, running for attorney general in 2006, is also attempting to defeat a budgetary proposal that cuts funding for the special program in half. As provided by in Senate Bill 453, the program receives $3.541 million annually to fight and deter crime.

“Protecting public safety and private property are vital functions of government. The Rural Crime Prevention Program has solved and curbed a large number of crimes that are often unique to our rural communities,” Poochigian said. “The program has led to the development and implementation of very successful strategies and task forces designed to reduce rural crime.”

Law enforcement officers, district attorneys, farmers, and others from throughout the Central Valley testified before the Senate Select Committee on Central Valley Economic Development Friday, demanding the continuation of the prevention program, and the restoration of full funding. Chaired by Poochigian, the Senate panel heard concerns from law enforcement officials from all eight counties benefiting from the program.

“Great strides have been made in combating agricultural crime, but the full potential of this unique program is yet to be reached,” said Tulare County District Attorney Phil Cline, who helped pioneer the pilot program that was the basis for the CVRP Program. “This program has facilitated a major shift in awareness of rural crime.”

Cline’s counterparts from neighboring counties agree.

“District attorneys have limited resources, and are often forced to choose between investigating and fully prosecuting various worthy and competing priorities,” said Fresno County District Attorney Elizabeth Egan. “This program has helped many Central Valley prosecutors to focus on rural crimes. It should absolutely be continued and fully funded.”

Since 2002, the prevention program has had reported losses of farm equipment, chemicals, livestock and other agriculturally related items in excess of $27 million and has recovered over $9.5 million.

The recovery rate is in excess of 35 percent, well over double the average for general property crimes in the state of California.

“Prosecutors in the Central Valley are confronted by many of the same crimes as district attorneys throughout California. However, we are also faced with an array of agricultural and other crimes that are unique to the valley,” said Stanislaus County District Attorney Jim Brazelton. “Without funding from this program, many of these crimes would unfortunately go unprosecuted.”

The Senate will continue to discuss Poochigian’s request to continue the bill.