December 02, 2008 |
Think tank condemns Arpaio's priorities
22 commentsby JJ Hensley - Dec. 2, 2008 12:00 AM
The Arizona Republic
It's the same attack, but from another end of the spectrum.

Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio has repeatedly dismissed criticism of his office and its policies as the work of liberal-leaning media outlets and politicians who are looking to score points by taking on the controversial, conservative sheriff.

A report to be issued today by the libertarian-leaning Goldwater Institute looked at many of the same facts Arpaio's critics have used to assail him in the past year and reached the same conclusion: the Sheriff's Office has out-of-whack priorities that jeopardize public safety.
The report came with a list of legislative recommendations that could check some of Arpaio's authority.

"We are hardly soft-on-crime liberals," said Clint Bolick, director of the institute's center for constitutional litigation. "I think it hopefully tones down the rhetoric and focuses on policy solutions that will help focus scarce police resources and contribute to lowering crime rates."

Despite the source, Arpaio's response remained the same, with the sheriff focusing on Bolick, the report's author, instead of the Goldwater Institute's body of work.

"When you talk about the Civil Liberties Union, I think they treat me better than this guy does," Arpaio said. "I never had any trouble in 14 years with the Goldwater Institute, and I've done a lot of controversial things."

Many points in the Goldwater Institute study were supported with research by newspapers and other media outlets. But unlike those published reports, the Goldwater study comes with policy proposals designed to add detail to lines of police authority, which can get blurred in a sprawling area like the Valley, Bolick said.

"When you strip the veneer from the well-oiled publicity machine, what you find beneath is soaring violent-crime rates and improper use of scarce police resources," Bolick said. "I think this complements other concerns that have been raised by groups in other parts of the spectrum."

If the Legislature were to take the report's recommendations to heart, Arizona's county sheriffs would be left with three basic functions: operate jails, coordinate warrant service and patrol unincorporated areas of their counties.

Support for such legislation is sketchy, particularly among law-enforcement officials.

During the recent campaign to run the Sheriff's Office, Arpaio's challenger, Dan Saban, hesitated on whether he would support such legislation if it meant curbing the authority of officers in Arizona.

Arpaio echoed those concerns when he learned of the Goldwater Institute's recommendations Monday night.

"We don't need new laws. This guy wants new legislation over and over again," he said. "We're too big now, with too many laws."

http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepubli ... r1202.html