Reversing trend, traffic stops by Maricopa County deputies are on rise
May 9, 2019, 3:16 PM | Updated: Jun 18, 2019, 11:54 am
(Twitter Photo/@mcsoaz)
(Twitter Photo/@mcsoaz)
PHOENIX – The Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office said the number of traffic stops made by its deputies have been on the rise in recent months, reversing a yearslong trend.
Phoenix-area deputies made 70% more stops in April than they did in the same month a year ago, the department said Wednesday in a press release.
That followed a March in which there was a 37% year-over-year increase.
“As the sheriff, I’ve made some adjustments. We have targeted areas throughout the county where there are greater traffic concerns, issues of bad behaviors in driving,” Maricopa County Sheriff Paul Penzone told KTAR News 92.3 FM.
RELATED STORIES
“We’ve also emphasized the importance of being balanced throughout the organization in all the operations we’re responsible for to include traffic safety.”
The data showed 1,822 stops in April 2019 and 1,072 the previous year. For March, it was 1,521 this year and 1,113 in 2018.
Penzone called the numbers “good” but emphasized the need to keep them in context.
“Our objective is to not have high numbers, as if that means the roadways are safer,” he said. “Our objective is to be effective in our enforcement.”
According to a study by Arizona State University researchers, traffic stops by the department fell 52% from 2015 to 2018 (from 31,700 to 15,200), raising questions about whether deputies were missing evidence of crimes that are sometimes discovered when pulling over motorists.
Penzone attributed the decline to oversight ordered on the department in the wake of racial-profiling violations under his predecessor, Joe Arpaio, who served from 1992 to 2016.
“The problem is that … our deputies felt handcuffed that if they were going out there enforcing traffic laws, that the level of scrutiny was going to be so high that they were going to be judged, and that might adversely affect their careers,” he said.
Deputies have had time to learn that the oversight process is fair and can be trusted, Penzone said.
“And now what we’re seeing is kind of the pendulum swinging back to the space that they’re out there being effective and they’re being thoughtful in their enforcement,” he said.
“The numbers aren’t the critical element, but being engaged is the priority.”
KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Taylor Kinnerup and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
