Border Security Efforts Working

Border security efforts introduced last year, under the leadership of Gov. Napolitano, are having a significant impact on crime. Updated statistics were presented to Gov. Janet Napolitano during a meeting of the Arizona – Mexico Commission.

In June of '05, Gov. Napolitano & Gov. Eduardo Bours of Sonora, Arizona’s border neighbor in Mexico, signed an agreement to work cooperatively to make the border as safe as possible. This agreement includes information sharing, training and intelligence gathering.

Since Jan. of this year, law enforcement, including the Az Dept. Safety, Az Dept. of Liquor Licenses & Control & other state & local law enforcement agencies have been instrumental in cracking down on the fraudulent ID trade, human trafficking industry & vehicle theft.

Governor's Fraudulent ID Task Force:
Made up of personnel from different local, state and county law enforcement, the Task Force’s mission is to dismantle operations that manufacture and sell fake ID’s and other documents.

In 2006, the Task Force has:
* Executed 57 search warrants
* Arrested 98 defendants
* Seized $1.35 million in cash and property
* Confiscated 714 fraudulent documents, including fake driver’s licenses, “Green Cards,” social security cards, etc.

Arizona DPS/Highway Patrol Division:
This division of the Arizona Department of Public Safety has placed a special emphasis on vehicle theft & drug enforcement.

Since January, officers have done the following:
* Seized 9 tons of marijuana
* Seized 80 pounds of cocaine
* Seized more than $2.1 million in drug money
* Turned over 1763 undocumented immigrants entering the country illegally to federal authorities
* Seized 105 stolen vehicles

License Plate Readers, known as LPR’s, were installed in southern Arizona in April. In just the last 60 days, law enforcement has been able to check a remarkable 41,221 vehicles, 9 of which were found to be stolen, & 4 of which had fictitious plates.

Financial Crimes:
Utilizing an anti-terrorist statute Gov. Napolitano helped craft several years ago, law enforcement is intercepting the flow of money used to finance human-trafficking operations. This “damming warrant” technique, which intercepts money being sent to Arizona from other countries via wire-transfer services, has become a critical component to dissolving these operations.

Statistics for 2006:
* More than 5400 wires blocked, resulting in $4.6 million in funds seized
* Arrests: 108

Other Efforts:
The Arizona National Guard is preparing to send an additional 300 members to various locations along the Arizona-Mexico Border to aid in drug interdiction, infrastructure & other support tasks. The federal government is paying for that deployment as a result of the intense work the Governor has done on the issue since last year.

The Az Governor’s Office of Homeland Security provided funding for new communications towers near the border, so that 1st responders can better communicate with one another; paid for a new fingerprint database for law enforcement on the Tohono O’odham Nation, enabling officers to quickly check individuals for criminal records rather than having to transport them to federal facilities miles away; allocated monies for 2 dispatch centers in Santa Cruz Co.; & purchased night-vision equip. for law enforcement in Cochise County.

Sonora also reports a 54% increase in the number of vehicles seized headed south of the border this year, since the 2 states began keeping track of progress as a result of info-sharing.