The Save Our Streets Plan

State legislative candidate Matt Gress today announced the “Save Our Streets Plan” to provide critical resources to law enforcement, prosecutors and state courts that will protect Arizonans, especially those who live in the Greater Phoenix metro area. The plan is designed to send a clear message to those engaging in criminal, illegal activities that they will be held accountable for their inhumane actions.

Gress is teaming up on the proposal with top Arizona law enforcement officials to ensure the most fundamental responsibility of government–public safety–is maintained across Arizona.

“The Save Our Streets Plan will make sure that crime really does pay,” said Matt Gress. “Violent crime rates have increased, our police force has an alarming shortage and fentanyl is the deadliest drug our state and country have ever encountered; from our border counties to the Phoenix-Metropolitan area, no community is safe from this poison. Families are suffering, small businesses are being crushed and the victims of crimes are being forgotten. We must give our law enforcement heroes the means to fight back against this evil and we must give our prosecutors all the tools necessary to make our streets safe once more,” continued Gress.

Background

In Phoenix, crimes reported have reached an all-time high. During 2020, the Phoenix Police Department responded to 13,646 different crimes. And violent crime rates in Arizona have significantly increased to 485 violent crime offenses per 1,000 citizens compared to the U.S. average of 399 violent crime offenses per 1,000 citizens. 

Moreover, homicide rates have increased, theft has increased, and drug overdoses have increased. In fact, Phoenix has seen 400 homicides since 2020. More than 5 Arizonans die every day from opioid overdoses; in 2021, over 100,000 Americans died of drug overdose primarily due to fentanyl, a 15% increase from 2020. And last year, the opioid epidemic in Arizona, heightened by the proliferation of dangerous, abundant fentanyl, cost the state $53 billion dollars.

Fentanyl seizures have increased exponentially; Arizona law enforcement led the nation with over 5 million fentanyl dosage seizures in 2021 and sadly, this is the trend for 2022. 

Furthermore, an enforcement burden that has dramatically shifted inland has left state and local law enforcement authorities to increasingly intercept and halt the flow of fentanyl in Arizona. Since 2020, DPS fentanyl seizures in the state’s four southern border counties have increased 380%.

While state law enforcement has valiantly addressed the fentanyl crisis currently affecting Arizona neighborhoods, urban violent crime rates continue to rise. 

What’s more, Arizona law enforcement has been experiencing a devastating workforce shortage crippling public safety efforts; Phoenix is beginning to follow the same trends as San Francisco, Seattle, and Portland. Currently, the Phoenix Police Department is experiencing a shortage of 501 law enforcement officers like San Francisco, where the 2022 SFPD report mentions they have 500 fewer personnel than needed to keep their city safe. And as Phoenix experiences a critical law enforcement workforce shortage, the city continues to welcome a record amount of new residents, topping the nation as the fastest growing city in America.

As of 2022, a total of 2,612 sworn police officers serve Phoenix with 1,013 patrolling the streets, while 1.7 million call Phoenix home; this puts Phoenix PD’s patrolling officers at 1.73 officers per 1,000 citizens, far below the universally recommended 2.5 patrolling officers, and in line with Seattle and Portland. For instance, according to FBI statistics, in 2019, Seattle had 1,416 officers. Today, Seattle has just 954 officers serving a population of approximately 741,300, or a patrol ratio of 1.29 per 1,000 citizens, and Portland has just 789 officers serving a population of 666,249 people, a dismal patrol-to-citizen ratio of 1.18.

A shortage of personnel, a shortage of resources, and a surge in violent crime reporting has left the city in need of desperate support. 

And a survey by OH Predictive Insights shows Phoenix voters have noticed these discrepancies and want to see actionable policies taken to address violent crime in Arizona. According to the report, 60% of Phoenicians have a favorable impression of their local police department. The report highlights 70% of voters believe Phoenix has a problem preventing/investigating crime – including 28% who believe this fact to be a major problem. 

When asked their opinion on the relationship between safety in the City of Phoenix and the police, the report cites, three out of five Phoenix voters say Phoenix would be safer with more police while only 8% believe we need fewer. 

After being provided with current data on crime, staffing, shortages and response times, an overwhelming 75% of Phoenix voters support increasing funds and resources for police. 

Details of the Save Our Streets Plan

Phoenix law enforcement continues to experience a workforce shortage as violent crime accelerates in Maricopa County. Since 2021, the City of Phoenix Police Department has lost 270 officers; and the department currently sits at its lowest level of employment since 2015 when there was a year-long hiring freeze. Meanwhile the city’s population continues to rise causing even greater need for basic police services. This troubling trend is spreading and we must fight back against the local politicians who started it. 

Back the Blue by Budgeting for the Blue:

First, we must establish a minimum threshold cities and towns MUST budget for police. The universal standard for safe policing is 2.5 patrol officers per 1,000 residents. Municipalities will be required to report to the Arizona Peace Officer Standards and Training (AZPOST) Board on their annual budget for police officers, including the number of patrol offices, to allow the State Legislature to determine whether a municipality is adequately budgeting to hire a sufficient amount of cops to keep our communities safe. If a municipality fails to reasonably budget for enough police to meet that 2.5 patrol standard, the Save Our Streets Plan will require that jurisdiction to submit a staffing and recruiting plan to be monitored and implemented over a reasonable amount of time to achieve the Save Our Streets coverage standard.

Expand the Talent Pipeline for Law Enforcement:

The State of Arizona should establish a new Criminal Justice Academy at Arizona’s universities and community colleges, in coordination with AZPOST so graduates can receive their certification and be hirable right away.  

The Academy would offer tuition-free education and training to police and correctional officers in exchange for a commitment to work in some law enforcement capacity for a set number of years. The program could be funded as a public-private partnership between the State, cities and towns, and insurance companies.

Why insurance companies? When crime is up, insurance losses go up as well. For every dollar an insurance company contributes to the Academy, it would receive an insurance premium tax credit. By building a stronger workforce through the Criminal Justice Academy, we can reduce crime, make Arizonans and their property safer and lower the number of claims for insurance companies to process, making this kind of tax policy beneficial for residents and businesses.

The new Criminal Justice Academy will also include investments on the K-12 level by providing high schools with grants to fund Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) and other police/first responder training programs that allow our future workforce to learn more about excellent careers in law enforcement and public safety.

Additionally, the Save Our Streets plan will include State tuition assistance at Career and Technical Education programs, community colleges and universities for spouses and dependents of law enforcement and first responders personnel. 

Establish a Fentanyl Strike Task Force Dedicated to Combating Illegal Drug Trafficking:

The Legislature must take steps necessary to empower and equip law enforcement to develop a Fentanyl Strike Task Force dedicated to combating illegal drug trafficking in Arizona. Like the Border Strike Force, the State will provide grants for state and local law enforcement agencies to hire staff exclusively dedicated to arresting and reversing Arizona’s fentanyl crisis. In addition, grant funding would also be provided to county attorney offices and the courts to allow for the speedy prosecution and adjudication of the expected increase in drug cases.

Toughen the Penalty For Drug Dealers Peddling Lethal Fentanyl and Marketing to Children: 

The Legislature should include within A.R.S. §13-3407 the possession and distribution of lethal doses of fentanyl as well as pills that are designed to appeal to children and young adults (e.g., “rainbow” fentanyl). The existing statute currently governs the prosecution of drug users, dealers and manufacturers of methamphetamine. 

This key legal change would allow prosecutors to pursue harsher punishments for drug dealers who possess and intend to distribute lethal doses of fentanyl. Even if drug dealers are unaware they are pedaling lethal doses of fentanyl, they will be held equally responsible as those who do. The plan also targets “rainbow fentanyl” pills designed to entice children and young adults into getting hooked on this poison. Time in prison would range between 5-20 years depending on the threshold of possessing lethal fentanyl. Additionally, prosecutors would be able to pursue harsher punishments action against drug dealers who have sold dangerous, illegal drugs containing fentanyl to Arizonans who have consequently overdosed. Higher sentences will disrupt cartel supply chains, causing a reduction in the amount of fentanyl in Arizona.

These efforts already follow recently enacted legislation (HB 2253, Laws 2022, Chapter 371) that enhanced the drug sentencing threshold for those in possession of large amounts of fentanyl.

What does this plan mean for our communities and state?

Supporting Our Police: The Save Our Streets plan will defend police budgets from short-sighted municipalities that seek to defund the police and instead make Arizona a destination for law enforcement. 

The plan will improve the working conditions for our police officers with better pay, better patrol staffing and better educational opportunities for our heroes in blue and their families. 

Disrupting the Cartels: We can support our law enforcement to combat illegal drug use in Arizona by holding the cartels and their dealers fully accountable for the poison they are bringing into our state and country.