Supervisor Snider: Response to PCSO’s anti-smuggling enforcement unit request

Suddenly the pace of life has picked up as we begin to hurtle toward the end of this calendar year. Our winter visitors have returned in full force, and the calendar of events has certainly loaded up with a myriad of opportunities for everyone’s taste. Every retail outlet of any size is already stocked for the holidays, and the news media have started the countdown to Christmas – I secretly suspect some children are counting days, hours and minutes as well!
 
I’d like to take a few minutes to talk about the matter of Sheriff Babeu’s request for some $1.5M of emergency funding from Pinal County coffers for the purpose of creating and equipping a special interdiction squad or “anti-smuggling enforcement unit.” In my opinion, there are a number of factors to consider as the Board of Supervisors explores the ramifications of the Sheriff’s request – a strained budget not the least of the factors. 
 
Board members are concerned, as always, about the safety of Pinal County residents. If we weren’t committed to that concept, we would not have exempted – for the last two budget years – the Sheriff’s Office from the county-wide hiring freeze that we imposed in 2008. In the current fiscal year, public safety accounts for roughly 46 percent of the County’s General Fund expenditures and 1,235 employees within the County’s workforce.
 
The Board regularly approves (with praise in many instances) a wide variety of inter-agency cooperative ventures that partner PCSO with local, county, state and federal agencies for various purposes. At present, there are at least ten state and federal law enforcement agencies operating and coordinating a number of prevention, enforcement and apprehension programs – most of which include PCSO as a participant and contributor (i.e. human and other resources). 
 
Some of those initiatives are: the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTAS) with a mission to reduce drug trafficking in 31 critical areas in the country (including Pinal County) and the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDEFT) with a principal mission to identify, disrupt and dismantle drug trafficking and money laundering organizations.
 
The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has three integrated operational directorates (all three are actively staffed in Arizona and southern Arizona): Homeland Security Investigations, Enforcement and Removal Operations, and Management and Administration.  Their roles are self-evident, and they are a significant presence in this area. ICE has also deployed nine collaborative intelligence operations within their Office of State and Local Coordination which is directly empowered by the ICE Director’s office.
 
The most recognizable federal presence is the U.S. Customs & Border Protection (BP). Nearly 600 BP officers are dispatched from the BP complex in Casa Grande. These officers are the backbone of federal efforts in our county, and they maintain a close operational relationship with PCSO.  They’re the equivalent of our local cops on the beat – and to minimize the travel times to the furthest reaches of their “beat,” some are deployed in four shift rotations.
 
Backing up intelligence and enforcement efforts of federal agencies is the Department of Justice’s Office of the U.S. Attorney: theirs is the responsibility for prosecution of federal criminal offenses, including narcotics trafficking and immigration crimes. The 156 Assistant U.S. Attorneys in the Arizona office filed approximately 3,200 felony and 22,000 illegal immigration cases, including 969 felony drug cases (against 1,519 defendants) in Fiscal Year 2009.
 
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is the umbrella agency for BP and ICE. Through ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations intelligence operations are mounted and the federal criminality of all incarcerated prisoners in Arizona is now automatically checked at the time of booking with appropriate actions for prosecution and/or deportation taken by the Department of Justice.
 
In 2010, DHS agents opened a new phase of cooperation with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in their mutual efforts to deal with illegal trafficking through the Pinal County areas of the Ironwood Forest and Sonoran Desert National Monuments (including the Table Top Mountain area). BLM special agents and uniformed rangers have intensified their patrols of the area for increased patrol presence and interdiction efforts. Military-style barriers are being placed in strategic locations, in cooperation with BP, to deter traffic related to smuggling and other illegal activities.
 
DHS’ Operation Stone Garden provides grant funds to all levels of police agencies in Pinal County for overtime, mileage and equipment. PCSO is receiving nearly $300,000 this fiscal year and, during the FY 2007-10 period, PCSO was awarded nearly $1.2M in aid.
 
ACTT (Alliance to Combat Transnational Threats) was created a year ago to harness the capabilities and resources of more than 50 law enforcement agencies (including federal, state, tribal and local public safety entities). ACTT’s mission is to “deny, degrade, disrupt, and dismantle criminal organizations and their ability to operate …. Establish a secure and safe border environment, and improve the quality of life of affected communities throughout the State of Arizona.” (Power Point presentation to the Board on 10/27/10) The key to the successes of the ACTT is coordinated intelligence, interdiction and arrest/detention actions throughout the Tucson sector.
 
PCSO personnel are present at all briefings, and the Sheriff’s Office is invited to participate in all ACTT operations within the Pinal County area. Other collaborations have resulted in regional units such as the Arizona DPS’ Gang & Immigration Intelligence Enforcement (GIITEM) task force, PCSO’s Criminal Investigations Bureau (CIB), Narcotics Task Force (PCNTF), and the Pinal County Special Weapons And Tactics (SWAT) unit. 
 
The SWAT unit operates under the control of PCSO and is staffed by officers from PCSO and a number of local police and public safety departments. These officers are highly trained – special training sessions are held on a regular basis – and well armed. They are deployed on an as needed basis. I firmly believe that the SWAT unit should be tasked to also function as the PCSO Anti-Smuggling Enforcement Unit. The need for the traditional SWAT team is sporadic, and I hope, after successful deployment, that the need for a regular deployment of the anti-smuggling unit will be sporadic as well. When our enhanced SWAT unit is used in conjunction with and as a part of the ACTT operation, surely we will prevail.
 
David Snider, Pinal County District 3 Supervisor 

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