ONE ON ONE: Pinal County’s top local law enforcement officer sees progress

inmaricopa.com is unveiling a new feature with the recent debut of our improved Web site. We will go one-on-one with different individuals in town who have an impact on the daily lives of Maricopa residents. If you have a person in town you would like to see interviewed, e-mail us at: [email protected].

Our first interview recently was with Pinal County Sheriff Chris Vasquez. A third generation Pinal County resident, Vasquez has been with the Sheriff’s Office since January of 2001. He was promoted to sheriff in 2003.

inmaricopa.com: With Maricopa recently getting its own police force, how will that impact the work the Sheriff’s Office currently does in Maricopa?

Vasquez: In working with the Maricopa Police Department, MPD, a plan was developed to have MPD begin patrolling day shift with a sergeant and a squad of patrol officers starting July 1st. Those deputies assigned to day shift will transfer to the peak times for calls for service in the evening. What this will initially do is place an increased law enforcement presence during those evening peak times. Citizens will see an improvement in response times and proactive law enforcement.

After that, as MPD adds officers to its force we will start reducing the number of deputies assigned to Maricopa, slowly turning law enforcement duties to MPD. Those deputies being replaced by MPD officers will be reassigned in other regions within the Sheriff’s Office.

I was at a recent function in the City of Maricopa and was asked by a citizen if once MPD takes over and the Sheriff’s Office is no longer providing law enforcement to the city, will the city have to pay for posse, narcotics task force, search and rescue and SWAT services? My answer was no. MPD and the Sheriff’s Office have already developed a great working relationship. Just because MPD assumes full responsibility for law enforcement doesn’t mean the Sheriff’s Office is gone. I told the citizen we are just a phone call away should MPD need assistance with anything. Because we will enter into a mutual aid agreement with the assistance we provide MPD, we will bear that cost. We do this with other agencies. Should the Sheriff’s Office need assistance, MPD will be there for us. For law enforcement to succeed we need each other. We must act as a team to make Pinal County and its communities safe.

inmaricopa.com: What are the greatest challenges to law enforcement as Maricopa grows?

Vasquez: The City of Maricopa is growing at a fast pace. Increased population brings many challenges common not only to Maricopa, but to any jurisdiction experiencing fast growth. In 2006, Pinal County is the second fastest growing county in the nation. Between 2000 and 2006, Pinal County grew by 51 percent, making it the sixth fastest growing county in the nation for that time period.

The three major challenges this growth brings to Maricopa are increased calls for service, crime and traffic issues. Over the past 11 months, calls for service increased by 33 percent –733 to 1,088 for Maricopa. There is an increase in violent crime in Maricopa, i.e., shootings, home invasions, assaults, armed robberies and child abduction. The majority of the crimes against persons are committed by persons known to each other and the deputies are doing a good job in solving those cases. The overall crime rate in Maricopa is about that of any other city its size. Although there are slight increases in thefts and burglaries and other types of crime, the City of Maricopa is a safe place to live.

Over the past year traffic issues are the major concern with the high number of traffic accidents, especially, fatalities within the community. Over the past year, Deputy Ryan Pass has conducted several traffic details bringing deputies on overtime to do nothing but work traffic. These details made hundreds of traffic stops, resulting in many citations being written. I am told during his normal tour of duty, Deputy Pass will issue about 80 traffic citations a month. I believe with this sustained activity and possibly the implementation of photo radar, the traffic issues will improve in the city.

With the number of sworn personnel allotted to cover the City it is difficult to meet these challenges, but, I believe we are. The deputies, I believe, are doing a very good job responding to the calls and dealing with them in a very professional manner. We have had many successes in the arrests of armed robbers, shooting suspects, burglars, drug users and the safe return of an abducted child with the arrest of her captor.

inmaricopa.com: Are you happy with the current manpower level and budget in order to properly patrol Maricopa?

Vasquez: The City of Maricopa has been very responsive in budgetary requests as it relates to equipment and personnel. The current workforce allotted is 21 positions for an estimated population between 25,000 and 30,000 people. In comparing the City of Maricopa to other cities of the same size, I should have about 30 to 50 sworn officers to properly serve the city. With the plans in place I believe the City is heading in the right direction.