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The Governor's plan
to close prisons for violent
juveniles puts Arizona
communities at risk.
The Governor's plan
to close prisons for violent
juveniles puts Arizona
communities at risk.
How do I love thee? Let me count the ways …" When Elizabeth Barrett Browning wrote these words, she had no way of knowing that they could be used against the Arizona Legislature in 2010 as a paradoxical commentary.
Recently, State Budget Director John Arnold presented Gov. Jan Brewer's proposal to relinquish the responsibility for the State Juvenile Justice System to county governments.
Ironically, in the same presentation, Arnold stated that public safety is the core function of state government. I could not agree more.
The Arizona Legislature has known for several years that the financial situation was facing a crossroad, and yet nothing was done to forestall or mitigate the coming crisis.
Instead, in an irresponsible dismantling of state government, the governor and the Legislature stand on the precipice of creating a crisis situation in Pima County and, I would argue, the other 14 counties in Arizona.
If this is the first step in the disassembly of functions that rest with the state government, then the next logical question is: What program is next?
The issue should be of utmost concern to the taxpayers of Pima County, who will be saddled with a financial burden of approximately $14 million to account for the approximate 100 local juvenile offenders who are currently in the state Juvenile Justice System.
Arnold's own accounting figures show that it costs $140,000 per child each year to provide the services that are necessary to reduce the recidivism rate and give these kids a chance to be productive members of society.
If the burden of responsibilities for these offenders shifts to the county, there will be no money for rehabilitation programs, counseling, education and job training that is currently a part of the state-funded process.
As a public official in Pima County, I am speaking out against this proposal so that the taxpayers are aware of the burdensome obligation with which they will be faced.
The judges who will be directly affected by this proposal are ethically mandated to remain silent in its face, to maintain their neutrality with matters of the state.
I feel that I am ethically mandated to speak out against it, to reinforce the idea that public safety is, indeed, a core function of state government.
This proposal that the governor has put into motion, and which the Legislature has the power to enact, is irresponsible at best and a travesty at worst.
As citizens of the state of Arizona, the Pima County taxpayers have a right to know what the state government has planned and how it will affect them on a local level.
Hiding from a foreseeable financial quagmire for so long, and then looking to shift the responsibility to someone else, at a cost that has yet to be determined in the futures of these affected kids, is a disgrace.
Recently, State Budget Director John Arnold presented Gov. Jan Brewer's proposal to relinquish the responsibility for the State Juvenile Justice System to county governments.
Ironically, in the same presentation, Arnold stated that public safety is the core function of state government. I could not agree more.
The Arizona Legislature has known for several years that the financial situation was facing a crossroad, and yet nothing was done to forestall or mitigate the coming crisis.
Instead, in an irresponsible dismantling of state government, the governor and the Legislature stand on the precipice of creating a crisis situation in Pima County and, I would argue, the other 14 counties in Arizona.
If this is the first step in the disassembly of functions that rest with the state government, then the next logical question is: What program is next?
The issue should be of utmost concern to the taxpayers of Pima County, who will be saddled with a financial burden of approximately $14 million to account for the approximate 100 local juvenile offenders who are currently in the state Juvenile Justice System.
Arnold's own accounting figures show that it costs $140,000 per child each year to provide the services that are necessary to reduce the recidivism rate and give these kids a chance to be productive members of society.
If the burden of responsibilities for these offenders shifts to the county, there will be no money for rehabilitation programs, counseling, education and job training that is currently a part of the state-funded process.
As a public official in Pima County, I am speaking out against this proposal so that the taxpayers are aware of the burdensome obligation with which they will be faced.
The judges who will be directly affected by this proposal are ethically mandated to remain silent in its face, to maintain their neutrality with matters of the state.
I feel that I am ethically mandated to speak out against it, to reinforce the idea that public safety is, indeed, a core function of state government.
This proposal that the governor has put into motion, and which the Legislature has the power to enact, is irresponsible at best and a travesty at worst.
As citizens of the state of Arizona, the Pima County taxpayers have a right to know what the state government has planned and how it will affect them on a local level.
Hiding from a foreseeable financial quagmire for so long, and then looking to shift the responsibility to someone else, at a cost that has yet to be determined in the futures of these affected kids, is a disgrace.
Brewer's proposal to dump juvenile justice a travesty
Arizona Daily Star, Feb. 15, 2010
By Clarence Dupnik
Pima County Sheriff
Arizona Daily Star, Feb. 15, 2010
By Clarence Dupnik
Pima County Sheriff
Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik was a guest on AZ Illustrated March 5, 2010. The show, hosted by Bill Buckmaster, was a roundtable discussion with other Arizona journalists.