From fentanyl to calls needing more deputies, Yavapai County Sheriff David Rose this week met with residents of Paulden and Prescott, the first two stops on a countywide tour, to discuss the current situation at the community level. We talked about the trends and concerns of
The tour comes shortly after the agency releases its 2022 statistics. The stats provide an overview of service requests, arrests, drug interactions, and closed cases over the past year across his 8,000+ square miles of county.
Over the next few months, Rhodes will continue touring at multiple town halls in the Verde Valley.
Here are five key takeaways from this week’s conversation.
Verde Valley Residents Concerned About Severe Weather And Emergency Response
Cities and towns below the Mogollon Rim are in a direct path of potentially dangerous flooding as warming continues and the snow melt accelerates.
After flooding raged across the Verde Valley over the past few weeks, residents of both towns were concerned about the weather making their roads impassable.
Rhodes told the community that the sheriff’s office will be equipped with large armored SWAT vehicles that can navigate through large amounts of water if they encounter a blocked intersection while first responders are responding to emergency calls. I assure you it is. And even if these vehicles can’t pass, the agency will always have helicopters available, he said.
Flood risk:Governor Hobbes declares state of emergency in Yavapai County after severe flooding
Fentanyl poses a threat to northern Arizona
Like other border states, Arizona has seen an influx of the deadly synthetic opioid fentanyl over the past few years.
“I’ve been in the industry for 30 years and I’ve never seen anything like fentanyl,” Rhodes said.
In 2022, the Sheriff’s Office drug trafficking team seized nearly 1 million fentanyl pills, 157 pounds of meth, and 25.2 pounds of cocaine.
The team also responded to 144 suspected overdoses and 43 fatal overdoses. Last year he ultimately made 265 felony arrests and secured the state’s first indictment in an overdose death.
In response to the overwhelming prevalence of fentanyl throughout the county and state, all legislators now carry Narcan, which can reverse opioid overdoses.
Rhodes says the need has become so great that doses of Narcan are taped to the outside of prison doors for easy access in an emergency.
Authorities also distribute drugs to the families of people released from prison, but they are at higher risk of overdoses.
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Recruitment remains a challenge
Rose spoke broadly about the agency’s challenge of hiring more people, including both deputies and staff.
“A lot of research has been done into the psychology of people who were thinking of getting into this business,” said Rhodes. “The constant criticism you saw over a period of time had a huge impact on how you viewed the profession.”
“Some of the law enforcement criticism was definitely justified, but it blew up far beyond what was real.
“We need to tell people who are interested in this profession that it is a respectable, honorable and noble profession, one where they can live rationally and have many ways to enjoy themselves,” Rhodes said. said.
In addition to low morale, the sheriff’s office must also consider the particularly high cost of living in Yavapai County as an additional barrier to recruitment.
Rhodes said even after raising wages by nearly 30%, it’s still not enough for most people to live and work comfortably in their communities.
This became apparent last year when a couple who worked at the sheriff’s office were forced to move out after just a few months without money.
The sheriff’s office has a total of 480 budget slots across all departments and still has about 90 vacancies, down from about 130 vacancies last year.
While the agency continues to actively recruit throughout the year, Rhodes is prioritizing salary and benefits increases to ensure the department retains the talent it already has.
More calls requiring more agents for more time
Although the overall volume of calls for service has remained fairly stable over the past five years, Rhodes said the types of calls coming into the department are changing.
This may be due to a change in policy within the authorities and calls indicating a high likelihood of violence from armed suspects.
In the past, only two representatives handled many calls, including domestic violence and mental illness.
Government agencies are now deploying a more modern response that includes sending at least three or four agents to these calls. This allows the agent to contain the subject within a wider area and give them time to slowly de-escalate the potentially violent situation.
This is especially important given that the sheriff’s office reports receiving more calls from armed suspects with a higher risk of violence. These situations often require immediate response from her four or her five deputies followed by a SWAT or quick response team.
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Speeding, traffic jams still upset residents
Speeding on state highways through rural town centers remains a major concern in many of Yavapai County’s smaller communities, including Paulden.
Last year, congressional residents ordered traffic restrictions along a two-mile stretch of State Route 89 after a pedestrian was killed while crossing the street after leaving a restaurant along the town’s main commercial district. requested a change.
About six months after the accident, the Arizona Department of Transportation released the results of a safety study that included recommendations for highway improvements.
Additionally, Rhodes has assured the community that the sheriff’s office will seek to increase speed enforcement in these areas.
Patrol deputies implemented more than 7,700 traffic stops last year, including 163 for speeding, according to the agency’s 2022 statistics.
In addition to speeding, both residents and Rhodes lament the massive increase in traffic across the county in recent years, contributing to an increase in congestion and collisions.
“I’ve been here all my life here in Yavapai County, and I’ve never had anything like this when it comes to road traffic,” Rhodes said. is no longer enough.”
Contact reporter Lacey Latch in Northern Arizona. LLatch@gannett.com or on social media @laceylatch.
Northern Arizona coverage on azcentral.com and the Republic of Arizona is funded by a grant from the nonprofit Report for America and the Vitalyst Health Foundation Associated with the Republic of Arizona.
