Sheriff implements Butts In Beats policy
May 27, 2009
GoldCanyonToday.com
Sheriff Paul Babeu at GCBA
Photo by GoldCanyonToday.com staff
Gold Canyon - Approximately 35 people attended the May 26, 2009 meeting of the Gold Canyon Business Association
(GCBA) featuring guest speaker Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu, who gave an overview
of his plans for the department and revealed what he called his “Butts In Beats”
policing concept.
With just six months under his belt, the first Republican sheriff in the history
of Pinal County, Sheriff Paul Babeu, recapped departmental accomplishments and goals
he has set, with transparency, training and accountability topping the list. Babeu
also revealed his newly implemented “Butts in Beats” policing concept.
Rather than roaming the entire county, Pinal County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO) deputies
are now assigned to 18 specific beats within the county, which is divided into three
regions. The Butts in Beats concept requires deputies to remain in their assigned
beat area, thus ending any past practice of multiple deputies congregating in one
location or engaging in long dinner or lunch breaks together.
While the deputies will be required to remain in their assigned beats, they can
provide cross-over assistance when needed. Deputies will no longer be blindly dispatched
to locations across the county; instead, the closest deputy to the situation will
be the one who responds to a call. Babeu said the implementation of this policy
should not only reduce response times, but should also cut down on the number of
crashes involving PCSO vehicles, which Babeu said totaled 30 last year.
“The staff has been very supportive of the changes,” said Babeu who has been working
to fulfill campaign promises to bring 21st Century technology to the Pinal County
Sheriff’s Office (PCSO), despite budget cuts in a downturn economy. Babeu has already
provided first aid and CPR certification training to nearly 500 employees, installed
Global Positioning Systems (GPS) in 100 cars and has equipped 62 patrol vehicles
with on-board computers.
In addition to adding on-board computers and GPS to vehicles, Babeu is also working
to enhance radio communications capabilities in an effort to further his goal of
reduced response times and increased officer and civilian safety. According to Babeu,
current PCSO response times are running 13.6 minutes for a Priority One call, 18
to 19 minutes for a Priority Two and between 22 to 25 minutes for a Priority Three
call. Babeu finds these numbers “outside of what is acceptable” and is shooting
for a 10 minute benchmark in Priority One response times.“A cultural shift is occurring
in Pinal County; this is no longer a sleepy 180,000 person county,” says Babeu who
sees Pinal County moving from its current number three position, to becoming the
second largest county in the state in the very near future. He says he is planning
for this evolution by combining “the very best of the past with the best in the
future”.
A PCSO Police Explorer Program has been implemented for youths 14 to 21 years of
age who have an interest in law enforcement; a PCSO DUI Task Force has been formed;
and the first ever PCSO motor deputies will soon be hitting the streets. The motor
team will be equipped with four American made Honda motorcycles and will provide
traffic and DUI enforcement in addition to accident response duties. According to
Babeu 45 people were arrested in Pinal County in a DUI Task Force conducted this
past Memorial Day, May 25.
Despite budget cuts and proposed salary freezes, Babeu said the county has not frozen
any law enforcement positions. Even if it means taking higher ranking officers and
putting them in patrol cars, Babeu said, “We will improve service to the people
we are sworn to serve.”
New GCBA Members: Pictured L to R: Darla Thompson-
Editor, Jill McFadden-Vice President of Operations,
Stacy Depree-Purper-Vice President of Sales &
Marketing, Jill Jones-Journalist, Matt Ruppert-GCBA
President
Photo by GoldCanyonToday.com staff
GoldCanyonToday.com, the community’s premiere local online news source, was presented
with a GCBA new membership certificate and the new owners of Gecko Espresso, Amber
and Ian Smith, were introduced to those attending. An update was given on the GCBA
Welcome Bag project and website improvements, along with the latest news on local
Day of the Cowboy celebrations planned for the weekend of July 24, 25 and 26.
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