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Most of the Senior Leadership Team are lifelong desert dwellers, accustomed to July being quiet. But this July at the People’s Office was far from it.
On the criminal side, we conducted an in-depth data review at the halfway mark of the year. As hoped, the downturn in the homicide rate continues. As a County, we are down 30% in homicides from the first half of last year, and 37% down from 2021. This exceeds national trends and far exceeds state-wide trends with the City of Phoenix down 10%. We can’t tell you what a relief this has meant to our partners and our own hard workers inside our building. In case you missed it, Laura’s op ed with Chief Chad Kasmar in Sunday’s paper is linked HERE.
On the civil side, Civil Chief Deputy Sam Brown and Laura drove up to Phoenix to meet with the Attorney General and other County Attorneys to discuss the ongoing Stay (protection) of reproductive health PCAO and Planned Parenthood won at the Court of Appeals, and that litigation, the Governor’s Executive Order, and the balance of power between the State and its Counties. Sam and Laura agreed they had never had a more fascinating legal conversation, and it was proof that even on one of the most highly charged topics in America, civil discourse can be had.
On the HR side, PCAO continues to play a large role in the advocacy for a County-wide commitment to advertise jobs at competitive rates to improve hiring and increase retention. County Administrator Lesher has really promoted a significant change to a previous culture of below market pay, and the public heard strong pro-employee comments from Chair Grijalva, Supervisor Heinz, and Supervisor Scott as they passed Phase One of a County compensation plan.
The summer law clerks (law students working with us this summer) are already starting to wrap up their time here to prepare to return to school. We try to work community service and little field trip opportunities into the experience, and this month we got a private tour of a children’s art showing at The Drawing Studio. The art was fantastic and expressive.
Community Outreach Coordinator Sofia Blue and Laura couldn’t help but purchase this piece for the office.
For our law clerks, we then walked around to the south of the Studio to what was once a convenience store that had been abandoned, causing the Studio a lot of heartache for some time. Working with the PCAO data analyst and the City, the Studio was able to fence off the area showing a sharp reduction in calls for service. And then a dream was born: for the Studio to buy the property to have a proper gallery to show off Studio art. It’s a great real-world example of partnership and collaboration in the world of prevention. And, these law clerks, who have committed to a high-stress profession, were introduced to a place where they can take restorative, meditative community drawing classes as part of a healthy work/life balance. Laura calls this the Public Safety Full Circle.
We’ll highlight one case from the past month which explains why animal abuse accountability is so important. “Sadie” was a well-known and loved bobcat, monitored by a group called Bobcats in Tucson that studies these beautiful creatures and their activities in urban areas.
The monitoring showed Sadie had recently given birth. She began visiting a particular local yard, unnerving the dogs in the backyard. On a repeat visit, the homeowner shot and killed Sadie. While this extreme response might have been justified if the bobcat presented a threat of harm to the person or the dogs, the investigation into the incident showed no such threat. Even if it had, Arizona law requires that people notify authorities within five days of taking the life of a wild animal. That standard also was not met. After winning at trial, Prosecutor Samantha Rapp nobly said the following, “A real win would have been Sadie still alive, but I am happy PCAO got justice for Sadie today”.
The Pima County Attorney’s Office bid farewell to a key member of the Senior Leadership Council this month when Legal Administrator Arika Wells went on to begin the next phase of her outstanding professional career with an organization that has long been dear to her heart and ours – The United Way
Arika’s nearly two years of supervising the human resources, finance, and information technology departments at The People’s Office were filled with success stories and led to lots of new friendships.
As the Chief Operating Officer and Vice President for the United Way of Tucson and Southern Arizona, we know Arika will be able to make an even bigger impact on our community while forging even more great friendships.
“If you’re ever at a United Way event in the future, or a youth football or basketball game, there’s a good chance I’ll be there,” she wrote in her farewell to PCAO. “Feel free to say hi.”
You can bet we will.
To be continued,
PCAO
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