We've armed our law enforcement officers with 17-shot pistols, AR15's, Tasers and body armor, but we're still only half equipping them for urban combat.
We have yet to give them the proper technology they need to identify who and what they're confronting.
In today's modern world, officers should be able to search millions of records on people, places, crimes, behaviors, vehicles and descriptions within seconds from their radio or computer.
That 21st Century technology is available and in use - just not here, at least to the extent that it should be.
There's a giant hole in Maricopa County's ability to deliver pubic safety in a manner that can keep up with an ever-evolving criminal element that knows no local, county, state or international boundaries. Cross-border crime has now become Maricopa County crime.
For the last three years, the East Valley and West Valley Police Chief's Association and their federal partners have been working to create a shared information database that can bring law enforcement in Maricopa County online like it is done in Pima County.
Last week, more than 60 high-ranking law enforcement officials met in Scottsdale to hammer out a plan and bring Maricopa County policing into the the 21st Century. A steering committee was formed and giant steps taken. The committee has the authority to act and move the process on a very aggressive time line. This was a huge "first" in Maricopa county-wide law enforcement history.
On hand were police chiefs and members of their command staff from throughout Maricopa county; the Arizona heads and ranking officials from the FBI, ICE, Drug Enforcement Agency, and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms; U.S. Marshal; U.S. Border Patrol; the director of the of the federal drug intelligence center known as HIDTA (High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas); Gov. Jan Brewer's directors and bureau chiefs from the Department of Public Safety, Corrections, Arizona Counter Terroism Intelligence Center, Criminal Justice Commission and Homeland Security; state and county prosecutors; and the deputy director of the Rocky Mountain Information Network, a multi-state information sharing system.
The meeting for agency heads was coordinated by interim Maricopa County Attorney Rick Romley and hosted by Scottsdale Police Chief Alan Rodbell.
Missing from this "A List" of top law enforcement officials was Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who had a speaking engagement previously scheduled in San Diego. MCSO sent a lieutenant to represent our only county-wide police agency.
Since reports of the extremely successful summit surfaced in a Tribune story, Maricopa County Sheriff's Chief Deputy Dave Hendershott has publicly attacked the combined efforts of local, state and federal law enforcement leaders and Romley. He proclaimed MCSO already has the information sharing problem solved and everyone is wasting their time. Bold talk from someone who didn't attend the meeting and who is second in command of an agency that has refused to join the East Valley Fusion Center information database or participate in the Fugitive Coordinating Committee, an intelligence-driven policing program that identifies, locates and is responsible for the arrests of many of the county's 38,000 wanted felons.
If MCSO already had a solution and system in place, then why did dozens of law enforcement leaders meet to fix this huge hole in county-wide public safety that contributes so much to serious crime?
Fighting crime is a team effort, not a one-man show. MCSO should be a valuable partner to the effort, not a detractor for the hard work and dedication being put forth by the law enforcement leadership team that serves and protects all county residents.
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Retired Mesa master police officer Bill Richardson lives in the East Valley and can be reached at bill.richardson@cox.net
forkedlift1 posted at 9:39 pm on Sat, Aug 21, 2010.
azgrantorino,
You must work for MCSO. Were you in attendance at that meeting in Scottsdale? The sheriff was invited. You must be referencing the AZLINK information sharing system used by many police agencies. Are you claiming that Romley was uninformed about it or its capabilities? I believe it's been in operation for almost ten years, which would be before Romley retired in 2004.
Are you saying that other police information sharing systems (HITS, LinX, Tucson based CopLink, etc.) are obsolete or have been incorporated into AZLINK?
After absentee Hendershott had his snit-fit that Romley and apparently the Scottsdale chief hosted the meeting, Romley's office was called by the reporter for a comment. Here's what the paper reported.
"Leesa Morrison, special assistant to the county attorney, responded to word of Hendershott's reaction by saying Romley called the meeting to open a dialogue about the many systems available and how Maricopa County can benefit from enhanced information sharing."
"The unfounded allegation by the sheriff that Rick is trying to “take credit” for the existing data sharing system is a prime example of the reason that the chiefs from all law enforcement agencies - federal, state, local and tribal - were invited to the summit," Morrison said. "Information sharing is about communication and coordination, not about claiming credit for a specific database. Rick was aware of AZLINK before the summit, as well as numerous other informational databases."
Do you dispute Bill's rundown of the "who's who" that attended the gathering?
"On hand were police chiefs and members of their command staff from throughout Maricopa county; the Arizona heads and ranking officials from the FBI, ICE, Drug Enforcement Agency, and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms; U.S. Marshal; U.S. Border Patrol; the director of the of the federal drug intelligence center known as HIDTA (High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas); Gov. Jan Brewer's directors and bureau chiefs from the Department of Public Safety, Corrections, Arizona Counter Terroism Intelligence Center, Criminal Justice Commission and Homeland Security; state and county prosecutors; and the deputy director of the Rocky Mountain Information Network, a multi-state information sharing system."
Also, do you find fault with Bill's concluding remarks? If so, how?
"If MCSO already had a solution and system in place, then why did dozens of law enforcement leaders meet to fix this huge hole in county-wide public safety that contributes so much to serious crime?
Fighting crime is a team effort, not a one-man show. MCSO should be a valuable partner to the effort, not a detractor for the hard work and dedication being put forth by the law enforcement leadership team that serves and protects all county residents."
azgrantorino posted at 5:38 pm on Sat, Aug 21, 2010.
Now, Now Forked...you don't know what you're talking about along with your friend Billy. Just ask the 'rank-and-file' law enforcement and you will find out about the MCSO application that is spreading like wildfire and has solved alot of major crimes in the valley...one of which, the perp just pled guilty to.
Bill and yourself are uninformed and are just engaging in last minute politics like ol' Rongley. Rongley has been out of the biz too long to know what has hit the deck...same as Bill. I suggest that Romley and Bill resume their retirements.
forkedlift1 posted at 10:44 pm on Fri, Aug 20, 2010.
Now now, boys and girls (Masterrogue666 and azgrantorino), it looks like you're both taking cues from David Hendershott.
About a week ago, the news article reporting on this summit of law enforcement officials appeared on the Tribune's website right here -- "Sheriff's office: Romley politicizing crime data efforts." But it consisted primarily of Hendershott -- who declined the invitation to attend the well attended gathering -- totally misrepresenting the purpose of the summit, and falsely accusing Romley of political motives. Pretty funny from someone whose political motives for power permeate his blood stream.
http://eastvalleytribune.com/local/cop_shop/article_ed16a636-a72d-11df-a63c-001cc4c03286.html
Another amusing observation is that neither of YOU two showed any interest in the matter of law enforcement databases (the many in use and cooperative communication between agencies) to have bothered commenting on the article containing Hendershott's misrepresentations.
Bill's commentary is informative, explains much about the databases and various LE agencies, and sets the record straight about Hendershott's badmouthing misrepresentations, which did exemplify MSCO not working with, but against, other police agencies.
azgrantorino posted at 9:20 am on Fri, Aug 20, 2010.
Bill,
Do you work for the NewTimes? Apparently, you are totally out of the 'know' when it comes to crime databases and criminal intelligence as it relates to MCSO. MCSO has been working with all the agencies you have noted and has developed a 'killer' application that has been utilized by virtually all the agencies you have outlined in this rant of yours. All you have to do is ask around and you will find out what that application is. The application has led to countless successes none of which that show up in the media because of misplaced hatred by has-been reporters such as you. You are clearly in Romley's political camp seeking employment is all I have to say for your unsubstantiated, false commentary.
Masterrogue666 posted at 6:29 am on Fri, Aug 20, 2010.
Billy, Billy, Billy...
My, your hatred of Joe and MCSO runs deep, doesn't it?