Phoenix Police credit Arpaio's immigration crackdowns with reducing crime

Left-wing Arizona Republic columnist E.J. Montini writes in a very fair column that Phoenix Police are grateful for Sheriff Arpaio's illegal immigration crime suppression sweeps, because it's reduced the amount of crime they have to deal with on the streets. The officers spoke on condition of anonymity, due to Phoenix Police Chief Jack Harris and Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon disagreeing with Arpaio over the crackdown.

Some excerpts -

Or as one of Phoenix officers put it, "The fact is, since our department has allowed officers to partner with ICE (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement), our jobs have gotten easier. The streets are a little safer. And we (the officers) are a little safer. And honestly, Arpaio's policy is what helped us to get our new policy."

I contacted Mark Spencer, president of the Phoenix Law EnforcementAssociation, and asked him if other union members are saying the same thing.

"Yes," he said. "I think that the current policy, which allows our guys to communicate with ICE based on reasonable suspicion, has been very helpful. Just as I think that the proactive immigration legislation coming out of the state capitol has been helpful."

"We had the president of the Border Patrol union in here recently," Spencer told me. "He reported to us that apprehensions at the border have gone down 24 percent. Well, we look at that here and we see a correlation. (Mayor) Phil Gordon just said at the State of the City address - and he's correct - that violent crimes in the city of Phoenix have gone down 24 percent. Stolen vehicles in the city of Phoenix have gone down 27 percent. So, we see that as a real common sense connection."