By Jim Walsh
MESA, Ariz. — Crime in Mesa dropped in the first week after several East Valley police departments combined resources this spring to arrest 210 suspects, including 86 documented gang members, during a three-week crackdown that ended last week.
“The bottom line is to take repeat offenders victimizing our communities off of our streets,” Mesa police Chief George Gascón said Friday. “It seems a message to all the bad guys that we’re working together.”
Gascon said crime statistics kept in Mesa showed an immediate drop in the average number of crimes committed per week to the lowest point in 18 weeks.
The three-week Operation City Limits ran from April 30 to May 17 and was announced Friday.
Gascón described the suspects arrested are violent offenders who posed a constant threat to the public, and said it’s “only a matter of shooting accuracy” between someone willing to use a gun to commit armed robbery and committing murder.
“This is about focusing our arrests on the people that matter,” Gascón said, a reference to an ongoing battle with crime suppression tactics being used by Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio. “This is not sweeping the streets and picking people up” for lesser offenses.
The suspects arrested in the crackdown are accused of crimes ranging from a drive-by shooting to a carjacking where a sawed-off shotgun was pointed at a driver’s head, to drug offenses and an aggravated assault. In the latter case a gang member is accused of pointing a gun at a family that happened to walk by during an argument between gang members.
Although Tempe Police Chief Tom Ryff said he is pleased with the results of the inter-department crackdown, it is important to realize that police are cooperating with each other daily to solve crimes, sharing information through the East Valley Fusion Center, identifying gang members and crime trends.
“The bottom line is that we’re practicing a 360-degree approach to crime prevention,” Ryff said. “This is never ending. This is the new way of doing business.”
Ryff, Gascon and Chandler Police Chief Sherry Kiyler all said that a higher level of sophistication is necessary to arrest criminals that ignore city boundaries when committing crimes.
The Gilbert, Scottsdale and Gila River police also participated in the operation, along with the Arizona Department of Public Safety and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. Police also seized $10,000 in cash and about $100,000 worth of property, including two sawed-off shotguns, an AK-47 assault rifle and several semi-automatic handguns.
The arrests included 86 in Mesa, 81 in Tempe, 16 in Chandler, 8 in Gilbert, 10 in Scottsdale, and 9 by DPS. The drugs seized included methamphetamine, cocaine and 700 pounds of marijuana.
Ryff said the importance of the cooperation goes well beyond numbers. He said it’s important for gang members to fear apprehension from such focused crackdowns, just as drivers slow down because they fear photo radar tickets.
“Some of it is not measured. How is it impacting the mindset of criminals? How many crimes have we spoiled?” he said.
Copyright 2008 The Arizona Republic