An Effective Sheriff

Speech at the Arizona Police Association
March 28, 2008

Good afternoon.

I’m very proud and honored to be standing here today and accepting the support of over 6,500 of front-line public safety professionals.

To date more than 14,000 of our everyday heroes have demonstrated their concern – that the people of Maricopa County need a new sheriff who will champion truth and justice.

These professionals recognize the need to improve public safety in our county, and know that it all begins with our elected sheriff.

A good sheriff needs to build trust with fellow law enforcement professionals and with the people he serves.

An effective sheriff needs to have a plan of action to fight crime and make our communities safer. He needs to work hand in hand with law enforcement agencies and with the public, this is why I have created my crime fighting initiative.

For a variety of reasons property crimes are up throughout our entire county. Gang activity has increased over 100% in the past few years.

Jail costs are rising and the number of repeat offenders continues to skyrocket.

My County wide Public Safety Initiative plan is a plan of action!

It’s time for the leadership in this office to step away from the cameras and paparazzi and get back to leading the charge against crime.

My 10-point plan establishes the sheriff’s office as the regional resource for public safety efforts by being the driving force behind the sharing of all the resources necessary to facilitate and coordinate effective and efficient law enforcement services here in Maricopa County.

My plan will:

1. I will Create Community Partnerships within County Islands
by using proven crime prevention methods in areas like Anthem, Aguila, Gila Bend, Cave Creek, and the Sun Cities. I will improve service by expanding programs such as neighborhood watch, School Resource Officer, and Faith-Based Public Safety Partnerships.

2. I will Establish a county-wide approach to eliminating gangs
from our streets and actively strive to reduce their activity by 50%. I will advocate a regionalized approach to enforcement and partner with the State wide Gang Task Force, GITEM throughout Maricopa County in a united effort.

3. I will revive the Warrant Service Unit
and actively pursue the 40,000 outstanding felony warrants and create a tracking program for all registered Sex Offenders living within county areas. In addition, I will assign personnel and support resources to work with the US Marshals Service’s Fugitive Task Force here in our county.

4. I will facilitate the collaboration of a critical data-sharing process
that will use systems like COPLINK and allow multi-jurisdictions to use technology and share criminal justice information and intelligence to increase police operational effectiveness and efficiencies in fighting crime in real time. I will take the lead on bringing the appropriate stakeholders together to work on reducing costs, while creating strategies for improving information management and how information and intelligence is shared throughout the state which will enhance our public safety officer’s ability to protect the public we serve.

5. I will promote the need for communications interoperability
so that first responders anywhere in this county can communicate with ease which will provide improved methods to successfully resolve emergencies no matter which agency they are affiliated with.

6. I will enforce illegal immigration
by supporting federal, state and local agencies with available resources to eradicate the drop houses and other tools of organized crime, human smugglers, drug-traffickers and fraud-rings. I will place immigration holds on all in-custody arrests at the time of jail booking. I will lead the efforts in working side by side with all law enforcement agencies and repair the damage done to communities who have lived in fear and restore the trust in law enforcement that we are sworn to protect and serve.

7. I will reduce jail recidivism and jail costs
by looking into innovative and cost-effective programs similar to those found in Boston and San Francisco that have been successful in their re-entry methods. I will partner with Adult Probation to create a proactive offender tracking system to reduce offenders who tend to repeat their criminal pasts. It is with the understanding that education, treatment and prevention are a better investment than the cost of money and lives after a crime has occurred.

8. I will actively support existing Public Safety Partnerships
like the East & West Valley Police Chiefs’ Associations that cross jurisdictions to analyze and evaluate policing methods and practices to create the most effective and efficient strategies to fight crime. I will use the Sheriff’s Posse to suppress burglaries/thefts and quality of life crimes within the county areas in addition to offering them as a resource to local law enforcement efforts as requested. I will create a “working” jail users committee that will review jail costs, establish methods to keep satellite jail facilities available, provide cost effective inmate transportation and streamline existing booking procedures.

9. I will recruit and retain excellent employees
by providing competitive salaries and benefits by partnering with the County Manager, Finance Department and the Board of Supervisors to ensure that any increases are fiscally responsible.

10. I will create a Regional Public Safety Council
consisting of law enforcement executives from around the county including DPS, DEA, FBI, ATF, US Marshals, MCAO, AG, and our Tribal partners. This Council will meet on a quarterly basis to recommend and design joint opportunities to combat crime based on crime trends and homeland security issues countywide in cooperation with activities at ACTIC and the East Valley Fusion Center. I’ll create a clear plan of action with a mandate to reduce crime and measure its effectiveness while sharing that information with the public.

An excellent sheriff is a guardian of the community who works together with his law enforcement partners and the public.

My plan will be effective in achieving what we all want – and that is to feel safe and secure within our neighborhoods.

As your sheriff, I will lead the way in accomplishing that goal.