Federal Cuts Will Disband Task Forces In Navajo County And Across Nation

By Linda Kor
   Arizona, along with the rest of the nation, is about to take a big hit. This hit comes in the form of re-duced funding provided through the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant program (Byrne JAG). This grant is the primary federal source of funding for law enforcement task forces nationwide, but despite that, the federal government has decided that this funding should go elsewhere.
   The announced cutbacks will reduce the grant amount from $520 million in fiscal year 2007, to $170 million in fiscal year 2008. This unexpected 67 percent cut will have a devastating effect on law enforce-ment all over the nation, but will have an even greater impact on Arizona and, specifically, Navajo County.
   The Byrne JAG funds a comprehensive federal crime-fighting program that enables communities to use funds to target their most pressing needs. The program, which was implemented in 1988, has been vital in the reduction of drug related crime in Navajo County and throughout the United States.
   As a result of this loss of funding, it is anticipated that the Navajo County Major Crimes Apprehension Team (MCAT) will be forced to disband as early as next year. This would mean officers going back to their departments, informants lost and complex investigations put on hold.
   According to Mary Marshall, public information officer with the Arizona Criminal Justice Commission, 40 percent of all drugs entering the United States travel along Interstate 40 as they make their way through-out the country.
    “This is the interstate that has the most drug traffic in the nation. MCAT, along with the Department of Public Safety, are the frontline of this war, right here,” stated K.C. Clark, chief commander for the Navajo County MCAT task force. “If we don’t stop the drug traffic along this interstate, it affects everyone, not just those of us in Arizona.”
   Funds from the Byrne JAG go beyond frontline support. It also funds drug courts, and pays for part-time and full-time drug prosecutors at the Superior Court, as well as forensic lab services.
   “This is a serious issue that is growing more so each day, especially when you’re looking at funding cuts from the state level as well. We already know that rural areas are the hardest hit when cutbacks occur and this will be no different,” noted Marshall.
   “What’s nice about the Byrne JAG is that it’s the only federal funding that takes in the whole picture. The needs of Navajo County enforcement are different from other counties and these funds can be put wherever they are needed most. Through the process of funding, each county can concentrate on its priori-ties. Our commission sets up strategic hearings in different areas of the state in order to guide funding deci-sions,” added Marshall.
   It’s not just the loss of federal funding that could be an issue. “At some point I fully expect the state to look enviously at the funds allocated to drug enforcement and redirect them to other areas,” said Marshall.
   Without these funds, Navajo County and the state will be looking at some serious public safety issues.
   “MCAT goes beyond drug enforcement; we also assist the local law enforcement agencies with addi-tional help in homicide cases, surveillance and pretty much any area that they need more coverage. There’s just not enough manpower in these rural areas to cover bigger issues,” insisted Clark.
   Without this funding, it is predicted that there will be a notable increase in property crimes, homicides and identity theft. According to Marshall, state, tribal and local law enforcement will lose valuable tools for fighting crime; prosecutors will lose important community prosecution programs and investigative tools; victims of crime are in danger of losing valuable services they so desperately need; courtroom dockets will become more crowded; fewer children will be able to enroll in proven delinquency prevention programs; community-based prisoner re-entry programs will lose their funding; and programs for non-violent offend-ers will be drastically reduced.
   In a letter written to Arizona Association of Counties policy and research analyst Mark Baer, Navajo County Sheriff Gary Butler noted that in the year 2007, MCAT was responsible for 304 arrests, and the seizure of 21 pounds of heroin, 1,300 pounds of marijuana, eight pounds of cocaine, 3.3 pounds of meth-amphetamines, more than 1,000 pre scri ption drug pills, 58 weapons/guns, 46 marijuana plants and more than 2,000 counterfeit items, such as CDs and DVDs. MCAT also assisted other agencies with the seizure of more than 2,500 pounds of marijuana and one pound of heroin.
   Butler noted that MCAT is also heavily involved in drug education throughout our county. “MCAT presents drug education awareness training to schools, civic organizations, churches, businesses and law enforcement. They are also a key stake partner in our drug court and County Drug Coalition. In 2007, ap-proximately 2,000 citizens were reached through our education program,” he stated.
   The MCAT unit also has the ability to cross over jurisdictional boundaries.
   “We are able to share information with other law enforcement agencies in a way that didn’t happen be-fore,” Clark emphasized. “You have to realize that these drug dealers have networking going on all over the country. If we can’t do the same thing, they’ve got us beat.
   “What people may not be aware of is that this task force does not need to be funded by tax dollars. The matching funds for the Byrne JAG come from the fines of the very people we arrest and the money from property that’s been seized,” stated Clark. “It’s bad guys paying for good work. That money is also used to pay for training of law enforcement officers, equipment and operating expenses.”
   The Byrne JAG also pays for local law enforcement to be contracted to MCAT for two to three years. The officers receive training and experience at no expense to their local agency, then return to that depart-ment with knowledge they can pass on to fellow officers.
   According to Marshall, drastic funding cuts have a disparate impact on rural counties, which comprise most of the land mass in Arizona. The loss of Byrne funding would result in the dismantling of several ru-ral task forces, leaving tens of thousands of miles without coordinated narcotics intervention efforts. Given Arizona’s unwanted role as a major trafficking corridor for narcotics smuggled into the country, the loss of these task forces has implications nationally, not just for Arizona.
   Iowa Congressman Dave Loebsack has stepped up and is seeking support for his bill, H.R. 5180, which would provide an additional $490 million in emergency supplemental funding to restore Byrne funding in fiscal year 2008. In a ‘Dear Colleague’ letter that is being circulated throughout Washington, D.C., Loeb-sack is spreading the word of the impact this funding cut will have. His letter states that a recent study found that Byrne JAG funded programs have led to 220,000 arrests, the seizure of 54,000 weapons, the destruction of 5.5 million grams of methamphetamine and the elimination of almost 9,000 methampheta-mine labs.
   Loebsack’s letter also stated that sheriffs, chiefs of police, and private citizens across his district and across the country have made it clear that cutting funding levels will create an emergency in drug and crime prevention efforts.
   Those involved in trying to maintain funding are requesting help.
   “What is really necessary at this point is for citizens to speak up and contact their legislatures. They need to be told that this loss is too much to bear for our county, state and even the nation as a whole,” said Clark. “Make no mistake, these cutbacks will effect every citizen, even right here in Navajo County.”
   To contact your congressman and senators, visit http://www.congress.org.