No mention of Sheriff Joe?
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County attorney: Crime by illegal immigrants down
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David Woodfill, Tribune

October 11, 2009 - 3:06PM , updated: October 11, 2009 - 5:27PM


Crimes committed by illegal immigrants dropped by 18.5 percent from 2007 to 2008 thanks to law enforcement’s hardline against those in the country unlawfully, said Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas on Sunday.

A study by Thomas’ office shows the amount of illegal immigrants sentenced for felonies in Maricopa County Superior Court dropped from 4,731 in 2007 to 3,855 in 2008.

That’s an 18.5 percent drop, more than double the 8 percent reduction in overall crime, Thomas said.

Put another way, 18.7 percent of the people sentenced for felonies in Maricopa County Superior Court in 2007 were in the county illegally. In 2008, only 14 percent of that group were illegal immigrants.

Thomas said the reductions “have not been nearly as dramatic for murders and sexual assaults, but that also can reflect the fact that those cases take longer to process by the court system.â€