Clint Bolick, Litigation Director of the conservative Goldwater Institute, has issued a 22-page indictment of Joe Arpaio’s tenure as sheriff of Maricopa County, which encompasses the majority of the Phoenix metro area in Arizona. Bolick goes after Sheriff Joe’s lack of focus on crime reduction and inefficient management of the department.
For those who are not familiar with the situation in Maricopa County Arizona, it is a felony to “be Brown” in Sheriff Joe’s bailiwick!
The paper also examines the 166-percent increase in homicide rates between 2004 and 2007, the same period that MCSO began diverting resources to other priorities, such as trips by high-level employees to Honduras for ambiguous law enforcement activities.
Mission Unaccomplished also looks at MCSO’s closing of satellite booking facilities, immigration sweeps, and lack of transparency.
Our friends at The Sanctuary, point out some interesting points about the timeliness of this report.
What’s puzzling about this lengthy report is not so much its content or origin, but rather the timing. In the Executive Summary, Bolick writes: “We find that MCSO’s effectiveness has been compromised for the past several years by misplaced priorities that have diverted it from its mission.”
Compromised? Can’t argue with that.
Unfortunately, the credibility of the Goldwater Institute is suspect since Arpaio was up for reelection less than a month prior to the public unveiling of this document. If Bolick was really concerned about Sheriff Joe’s leadership, he would have placed this indictment on the table prior to November 4th.
Sheriff Joe Arpaio is on the defensive after the report criticized his entire department and called for a legislative leash on the self-proclaimed “toughest sheriff in America.”
“No, I’m not going to read the report because it’s garbage,” Arpaio said. “This guy’s not going to change the way I operate.”
“This guy doesn’t know what he’s talking about,” Arpaio said. “All the garbage he puts in there he got from the newspapers or a few critics.”
Typical Sheriff Joe tactics. Bolick said violent crimes are on the rise, response times are putting lives at risk, and that Arpaio is too busy rounding up illegal immigrants while 42,000 felony warrants have not been served.
The report alleges Arpaio is keeping information from the public, refusing to release records and criticizing those who challenge his administration.
“The sheriff’s department is one of the most unresponsive, least transparent offices that I’ve ever seen in government,” Bolick said.
Bolick is calling on lawmakers to amend the state constitution to limit Arpaio’s jurisdiction to unincorporated areas of the county, running the jails, and serving warrants.
Let’s hope the representatives in Phoenix heed the call to put a leash on this guy.
The report can be downloaded from this site.
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