Posted: Monday, November 16, 2015 7:06 pm | Updated: 9:27 pm, Mon Nov 16, 2015.
By James Gilbert

Intending to fulfill a campaign promise he made to close the "wide-open and unprotected border," Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey is taking steps to create a Border Strike Force that will disrupt the operations of criminal organizations that smuggle drugs and people into the country.

Late last month Gov. Ducey sent a letter to Yuma County Sheriff Leon Wilmot informing him about the strike force, and asked what the state could do to assist his agency's efforts to reduce border related crime.

While Wilmot stated in a news release that he has not seen a formal plan from the Governor's Office on the proposed Border Strike Force, he recently met with Deputy Department of Public Safety Director Heston Silbert and JP Twist of the Governor's Office to discuss it.

Wilmot said during that meeting he mentioned several priorities he would like to see from DPS in Yuma County if they were to obtain funding for this unit, such as DPS updating or replacing its radio system to be compatible with the Yuma Regional Communications System.

The YRCS radio system is used by all of Yuma County area law enforcement and fire agencies, which allows communication between all agencies. However, Wilmot says local DPS officers are not fully integrated into the system.

Another priority for Wilmot is for Yuma area DPS officers to be put back on the Yuma County Narcotic Task Force (YCNTF), which is a multi-agency task force that works with the DEA, FBI and DHS and handles calls at the port of entry, checkpoints and smuggling cases.

This would expand the task force with more boots on the ground and assist in combating the street-level narcotics that attack our neighborhoods. By adding the additional resources, Wilmot said they will make a large impact and improve the quality of life in our community.

Also, if the governor's office is seeking to allocate funds, Wilmot said he would like his office to receive more funding for the creation of additional deputy positions, so more can be assigned to the YCNTF.

With the future disbandment of Marine Corps Air Station Yuma's search and rescue unit, Wilmot suggests that DPS could spend money in relocating or funding a Yuma-based multi-use DPS helicopter to assist local agencies when needed.

The helicopter would greatly benefit the community, according to Wilmot, because local agencies currently have to depend on the Department of Homeland Security -- which is already stretched thin with limited aircraft patrolling the border or desert area -- for search and rescue operations.

Wilmot also agreed with other Arizona Sheriffs' that he'd like to see more state troopers patrolling highways. He said he doesn't think DPS has enough troopers to handle their regular patrols, and the state would need to fill any empty positions it has first.

Earlier this year, Ducey gave about $560,000 to sheriffs in Yuma and Cochise counties for border security efforts by shifting money from two inland counties. Wilmot said he was appreciative of the additional funding and that it was used to offset the cost of incarcerating illegal entrants who have been caught smuggling narcotics and using fraudulent documents to assume the identities of others.

The Border Strike Force, which was quietly created in September, is a new bureau of the Department of Public Safety, and according to the letter Wilmot received is designed to work in partnership with state, local and federal agencies to prevent border-related crime.

The governor is hoping to grow the force of 10 to about 180 state troopers, analysts, pilots and other personnel. It's first operation took place in September and involved flushing out cartel scouts from the desert south of Phoenix.

http://www.yumasun.com/news/governor...71292d5d3.html