#WeekInJustice: Week 134
The theme this past week is one that is near and dear to The People’s Office as we work to make Pima County a safer and healthier place amid difficult times for so many of our residents.
We kicked off the week with the Arizona Daily Star publishing an op-ed piece written by Laura and Tucson Police Chief Chad Kasmar. They shared information about how our joint efforts have made a big difference in resolving and reducing homicides in Pima County.
Two days later, Laura joined a host of other law enforcement leaders (pictured above) for a news conference at the Tucson office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation to make public a successful monthlong effort known as ‘Operation Clean House”. The initiative led to the arrests of 88 of the most violent people among us, including four homicide suspects, the seizure of 9,000 doses of fentanyl and 10 guns.
As you can see the theme that we embraced so publicly this week is collaboration.
All that we do here at PCAO is geared towards making our communities safer, by holding those who harm others accountable, taking care of victims and offering alternatives to jail for people whose offenses don’t present an immediate threat to others. But we can’t do it alone.
We’re working with partners like Tucson Police, the Pima County Sheriff’s Department, the courts and state and federal partners to accomplish our goals.
You can rest assured that those who lead partner agencies understand the need for collaboration as well and you will see more of it in the days, weeks, and months ahead.
Meanwhile, within our offices at the Pima County Legal Services Building, we welcomed two key new players to the 19th Floor and reassigned another to a new and vital role.
The recent departure of Legal Administrator Arika Wells opened the door for us to bring longtime public servant Nicole Heath to fill that important post. Nicole has extensive experience in the public sector, having spent much of her career in state government. Most recently she was the Deputy Bureau Chief and Fraud Manager for the Department of Health’s Bureau of Vital Records. She’s also an avid runner who loves the outdoors and spending time with her family. The Legal Administrator oversees PCAO’s human resources, finance, and information technology crews.
Meanwhile, we welcomed Brittney Orr as Nicole’s Administrative Assistant. She recently retired from Davis-Monthan Airforce Base where she worked as an active-duty paralegal. She enjoys reading and is a big MLB fan her favorite team is the Yankee’s. She also likes to watch her youngest son play little league and loves to hang out with her family!!
We are excited to have both Nicole and Brittney join our team and, as a result, have promoted Arika’s former admin assistant, Catie Allen, to manage affairs for both Laura and Chief Deputy Baird Greene. She’s a ray of sunshine who has done some fantastic work here at the People’s Office (note she’s holding 2 phones).
We’re looking forward to her contributions as she moves into her new role.
Until next week!
Be Well.
Shawndrea
