A visit from the Sheriff...
Posted
on Jul 21, 2015
This week, members of the Rotary Club of Sierra Vista were presented with thank you notes from Abigail and Angelica Boughan, who wrote the notes to express their thanks for Fourth of July fireworks. The notes included pictures drawn by the girls and brought smiles to the entire Club.The keynote speaker for the Club was Cochise County Sheriff Mark Dannels, who began by describing how the Cochise County Sheriff's Office has changed the way it does business. Sheriff Dannels explained that the quality of business and the quality of service has become an emphasis and has seen significant recent improvement. One way the CCSO is doing this is by getting deputies out into the community interacting with the public more often. Deputies are encouraged to make personal non-investigation related, contacts with county residents. Supervisory staff is also being encouraged to get out of the office and onto the streets with the patroldeputies.
Sheriff Dannels then shifted focus to a familiar topic - border issues. Sheriff Dannels explained that smugglers have increased their use of juveniles for illegal smuggling, as the penalties imposed on juveniles are generally less severe than those imposed on adult offenders. In the last month and a half, the Sheriff's office has seen 22 juveniles being used for smuggling operations, which the sheriff explained was higher than ever before.
Sheriff Dannels also touched on the Dept. of Homeland Security’s new “Priority Deportation” program, which places deportation emphasis on the most violent offenders. Sheriff Dannels explained that DHS often does not want to deal with lesser criminals, but leaves that responsibility on the shoulders of local law enforcement.Two relatively recent advancements in the Sheriff’s Office include the Sheriff's border team, which has been in place for approximately 18 months. The team is tasked with focusing its efforts on Works any and all crimes occurring on the border. Another new emphasis for the Sheriff's Office is to start a financial crimes unit. Sheriff Dannels explained that millions of dollars in illegal proceeds make their way through Cochise County and into Mexico. The goal is to stop money laundering in and through our county.
Finally, Sheriff Dannels discussed the increased public scrutiny of law enforcement officers throughout the country. He feels that this increased scrutiny requires leaders to stand up and do what is right. He explained that our county's law enforcement officers have tried to do as much as they can to improve the public's perception of law enforcement in the County, and that one way to strengthen our communities is to support family, faith and education.
This week, members of the Rotary Club of Sierra Vista were presented with thank you notes from Abigail and Angelica Boughan, who wrote the notes to express their thanks for Fourth of July fireworks. The notes included pictures drawn by the girls and brought smiles to the entire Club.The keynote speaker for the Club was Cochise County Sheriff Mark Dannels, who began by describing how the Cochise County Sheriff's Office has changed the way it does business. Sheriff Dannels explained that the quality of business and the quality of service has become an emphasis and has seen significant recent improvement. One way the CCSO is doing this is by getting deputies out into the community interacting with the public more often. Deputies are encouraged to make personal non-investigation related, contacts with county residents. Supervisory staff is also being encouraged to get out of the office and onto the streets with the patroldeputies.
Sheriff Dannels then shifted focus to a familiar topic - border issues. Sheriff Dannels explained that smugglers have increased their use of juveniles for illegal smuggling, as the penalties imposed on juveniles are generally less severe than those imposed on adult offenders. In the last month and a half, the Sheriff's office has seen 22 juveniles being used for smuggling operations, which the sheriff explained was higher than ever before.
Sheriff Dannels also touched on the Dept. of Homeland Security’s new “Priority Deportation” program, which places deportation emphasis on the most violent offenders. Sheriff Dannels explained that DHS often does not want to deal with lesser criminals, but leaves that responsibility on the shoulders of local law enforcement.Two relatively recent advancements in the Sheriff’s Office include the Sheriff's border team, which has been in place for approximately 18 months. The team is tasked with focusing its efforts on Works any and all crimes occurring on the border. Another new emphasis for the Sheriff's Office is to start a financial crimes unit. Sheriff Dannels explained that millions of dollars in illegal proceeds make their way through Cochise County and into Mexico. The goal is to stop money laundering in and through our county.