Fighting Border Criminals from Gov

Fighting Border Criminals



Friday, December 14, 2007


Dear Friends,


I want to share with you a great example of how Arizona is working to tackle border crime, even as the federal government continues to push off confronting the problems of the border.


Arizona’s Department of Public Safety has begun using high-tech license plate readers to track and seize stolen vehicles. Vehicle theft and stolen license plates are key tools that smugglers use to carry illegal cargo – whether drugs or human beings.


One DPS officer in particular, Officer Dave Callister, has shown what hard work and an innovative approach can do to fight these border criminals. Officer Callister works with mobile license plate readers, devices that were originally designed for low-speed environments. Officer Callister worked to make these readers function on highways. Over a period of 16 months, Officer Callister recovered 75 stolen vehicles and 140 stolen license plates – helping to bring the fight to criminal rackets that thrive off our porous borders.


Continued smuggler and gang activity is one of greatest costs of the federal government’s inaction on comprehensive immigration reform and serious border security measures. Years of federal neglect have left our borders porous as criminal syndicates – including human smugglers, drug smugglers, and street gangs – have thrived in this lawless environment.


But all across Arizona, we’re not waiting for federal action to crack down on border crime – instead, Officer Callister is but one example of how we’re utilizing innovative law enforcement technologies to fight gangs and smugglers.


We have introduced new tools to prosecute border smugglers, created new laws that allow police to attack border criminals by seizing their assets, and cracked down on border gangs. In the past few months, we have entered into important agreements with law enforcement in Mexico to share information in the fight against meth traffickers. Last week, I also signed an agreement with the federal Department of Homeland Security that helps create a secure form of voluntary ID that will be less susceptible to fraud – which will help in the fight against border criminals who use identity theft as a tool to commit crimes.

The border presents a host of tough issues, and political deadlock often leaves problems such as border crime unaddressed. In Arizona, however, we’re working hard to take concrete action on these public safety problems that have an impact on Arizonans’ lives.


As always, I appreciate your input, and encourage you to call my office at 602-542-1318 if you have questions or thoughts to share. Or, please visit our Web site at www.azgovernor.gov for information and news in state government.

Yours very truly,
Janet Napolitano
Governor