Andy Biggs thinks Arizona needs to take better care of state troopers
The Republican gubernatorial nominee said "you have to devote resources" to improve "horrible" conditions at DPS facilities.
Watch: Rep. Andy Biggs outlines key priorities for Arizona gubernatorial race | 9 mins
U.S. Rep. Andy Biggs, the Republican nominee for Arizona governor, said the state should take better care of its troopers.
“You have to make sure that … you have enough money to pay them and make sure that they work in good environments, give them the right tools,” Biggs told KTAR News 92.3 FM’s The Mike Broomhead Show on Monday.
Biggs noted that the state has to compete with local police and sheriff departments in recruiting.
Arizona Department of Public Safety troopers work out of more than 50 substations strategically dispersed to provide coverage across the state.
Many are repurposed trailer homes that are falling into disrepair, creating unsafe conditions for troopers and prisoners. In some DPS facilities, prisoners have to be chained to the wall because there are no holding cells.
Biggs said he encountered “horrible” conditions while visiting some of the buildings recently.
“I’m surprised there’s not been lawsuits from people who are arrested and held in those facilities. … What we have got to do is, you have to devote resources to it,” he said.
Biggs, a former state Senate president, also accused Gov. Katie Hobbs, his Democratic opponent in the November general election, of misusing funds allocated to public safety resources.
“When I was in the Senate presidency, we actually put together a law enforcement equipment fund, which she swept and raided,” he said.
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Comments
4 Comments
Gotta check all them boxes if ya wanna win!
Next, all furry creatures great and small deserve a home and affordable veterinary care.
For the sake of removing any lingering doubt, one more review and/or audit of the 2020 election.
Finally, a chance to use my ''Hail to the Chief'' ringtone.
I'm sorry folks that I appear to be so jaded, but some people make it very hard to rally behind--this being one of them.
While I reluctantly agree with Mr. Biggles that DPS is underfunded and therefore short on staff and resources, his characterization that the governor is to blame is just more MAGA BS. Spending spikes in other areas (e.g. ESA in particular) which results in cuts to other agencies, tax cuts and the rising costs of the DPS mission are to blame and it's pretty much entirely on the state legislature. The DPS used to be kind of a shining star of LE in the state, the place where local officers aspired to go but now DPS cannot even provide 24x7 coverage in any but two counties. Put it on the R controlled state legislature and friendly past R governors.
Right next to an article where Andy Biggs says Arizona (who is 4th from the bottom in education funding) doesn't need more money for education, he says we need more money for law enforcement, where the 2023 article I found said we are 6th from the top in spending. He's got some priorities.