Phoenix police chief disputes right's claim that AZ law is needed because of violent crime

 MediaMatters
May 06, 2010 12:26 pm ET 

Conservative media have defended Arizona's controversial new immigration law by suggesting the law is necessary to fight violent crime. Phoenix police chief Jack Harris has rejected this claim, and he and many other law enforcement officials have argued that the law will distort police priorities.

Chief Harris: Police already "have the tools that we need" to fight crime related to smuggling, kidnappings, home invasions

Harris: Not "true" that "the new law provides a tool for local law enforcement." Phoenix Public Safety Manager/Police Chief Jack Harris stated during an April 30 press conference:
HARRIS: Proponents of this legislation have repeatedly said that the new law provides a tool for local law enforcement. But I don't really believe that that's true or accurate.

We have the tools that we need to enforce laws in this state to reduce property crime and to reduce violent crime, to go after criminals that are responsible for human smuggling, to go after criminals that are responsible for those home invasions, kidnappings, robberies, murders. We have those tools.

I have ten ICE agents embedded in the violent crimes bureau. We have a policy that allows officers to contact ICE when they need to access their databanks to further criminal investigation. I'm not sure what the tool is that this new law is providing to local law enforcement.

What I believe it is, is it provides a tool to divert our officers from investigating property crimes and violent crimes and divert their -- these resources, our personnel to enforcing civil portions of federal immigration law. In other words, it takes officers away from doing what our main core mission of local law enforcement is, and that's to make our communities safe and enforce our criminal codes in that effort.
Pima County Sheriff: "We don't need this law." Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik stated in an April 7 taped interview with KGUN9-TV that the law is "unnecessary" and that he won't enforce it. He added, "We're going to keep doing what we've been doing all along. We don't need this law. We're going to stop and detain these people for the Border Patrol."

Continue reading here about the opinions of other law enforcement officers.