Published: 07.12.2007
Sheriff's Dept. seeks $7.5 million grant for its border unit
The Arizona Republic

The Pima County Sheriff's Department has asked for a $7.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to help its new Border Crimes Unit catch the bandits who prey upon immigrants and smugglers.
The request was one of 30 the new Arizona Department of Homeland Security submitted to Washington and just one proposal that would use the money to directly shore up the state's border with Mexico. Word on Arizona's $135 million application is imminent.
The Arizona Department of Homeland Security cannot stay open without federal cash. It's responsible for coordinating all counterterrorism spending and planning in Arizona. The agency has received $239 million since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
Washington has steadily trimmed Arizona's allotment of counterterrorism money since 2004. Last year Arizona's share was cut in half as the Legislature reorganized the agency. State lawmakers moved the agency out of the governor's office, withheld state funding and required it close in 2016.
The Legislature's move was in response to a state audit last year that showed the agency didn't keep proper track of how millions of dollars were spent
In January, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said that proximity to the border carried extra weight in the funding formulas this year because "we do think that creates a certain vulnerability."
His comment came as he announced rule changes that included adding El Paso, Texas, and Tucson to the list of cities eligible for direct grants, on top of the money funneled by states.
Tucson's new designation prompted Pima County Sheriff's Capt. Frank Duarte to build the Border Crimes Unit.
If Duarte's grant request is approved, his two-month-old, seven-officer team can attempt to stop criminals heading into Mexico with guns, cash and stolen cars - the tools that keep the international smuggling machine lubricated.
The team would grow to 19, adding intelligence analysts to learn patterns from the arrests. It would pay for mobile checkpoints armed with automatic license plate readers to spot a stolen car in seconds and a helicopter to reach remote tracts quickly.
Duarte thinks it could help investigators build conspiracy cases around drugs, money, guns, stolen cars and human smugglers.

http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/daily/local/57226.php