The Pinal County Sheriff looked over five brand new Chevrolet Tahoe vehicles in front of his office and smiled. “These vehicles are the result of a partnership between other law enforcement agencies,” Sheriff Chris Vasquez said. “We are going to make our roads a safer place to travel.”
The Sheriff was referring to a partnership between the county, the Department of Public Safety and the federal government, which allowed Vasquez and his department to purchase the vehicles at no cost to Pinal taxpayers. The vehicles and the deputies inside them are a part of a new task force designed for commercial vehicle enforcement. It will be the job of the five deputies to seek out vehicles unsafe for Pinal County roads.
Sheriff Vasquez said that, due to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), there are more commercial vehicles, which do not meet this country’s standards, traveling the interstates.
“It will be these deputies’ job to make sure these drivers are in compliance of our laws,” Vasquez announced. “They will make sure they are driving safe vehicles, and they are not tearing up our highways and posing a safety threat to our citizens.”
Sheriff Chris Vasquez and his newly created Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Unit, and members of the County IT Department.
The Sheriff stressed that the new Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Squad will not only target I-10 and I-8, but also will patrol the rural areas as well. Since Vasquez started the Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Squad in January, there have been over 300 citations issued, a number he feels justifies the need for the stepped up patrol.
“Wherever there is a concentration of commercial vehicles, we’ll be there,” Vasquez said. Vasquez added that the Eloy Police Department will be joining the commercial vehicle enforcement with two units that will concentrate on I-10.
Within the grant funding is a pilot program for the county whereby each of the commercial enforcement units will be equipped with a brand new computer and revolutionary software designed to make their job easier.
One function of the software allows the patrol officer to tie into 48 of the 50 states so they can check commercial vehicle information while in the field. Doing everything from checking truck inspection certificates to updating information on vehicles, the deputies will be able to complete more work on patrol, rather than in the office.
Brian Kreklau, a Pinal County Information Specialist, says the commercial vehicle enforcement squad will be a guinea pig of sorts for the new software.
“We approach it as, ‘let’s get the best unit we would like to see in all the deputies’ cars, and see how it works,'” Kreklau said. “These guys will help us work out the bugs in the system.”
Sheriff Chris Vasquez looks on as Sergeant Willie Payne shows off his new vehicle and computer.
Pinal County Sergeant Willie Payne looked over the new software that he will be using in commercial vehicle enforcement and said: “This will make my job 100 % easier. I’ll be able to be out on the road more, which means I can help make our highways safer for everyone.”
