Maricopa County Sherriff

Paul Penzone




Home | Platform

Platform

Fighting Human Trafficking

Sheriff Penzone partnered with experts like the McCain Institute to help identify victims of human trafficking in the jails to open doors for victims and close doors on perpetrators. The McCain Institute has conducted extensive training with command staff to detention officers on how to identify a victim of human trafficking. Though this is a new partnership, it has enabled the MCSO to identify dozens of victims of human trafficking and gotten them the resources they need.

Rebuild Community Trust

Sheriff Penzone has been committed to rebuilding relationships and has engaged in robust community outreach to better understand concerns and needs as well as to educate about the MCSO and its practices. Under his leadership, the MCSO Community Outreach Division has hosted and attended hundreds of community events across the County, many of which are dedicated to dialogue with Hispanic communities. This year, MCSO won a national award for their partnership with the Guadalupe Boxing Gym. This partnership is a collaborative program between the Agency and the Town of Guadalupe community members targeting at-risk youth focusing on sportsmanship, fair play, and physical, mental, spiritual and emotional health. In addition, The MCSO Pathways to Justice program engages young adults from predominantly minority and low-income areas to learn more about careers in public safety, while also building relationships and trust. Sheriff Penzone initiated several community advisory boards that provide guidance and feedback, which include the Hispanic Advisory Board, the African American Advisory Board and a LGBTQ Advisory Board. The MCSO also holds Community Academies several times a year, with every other academy for first language Spanish residents, with the goal of fostering a greater partnership with the community.

Prioritized Child Safety

Sheriff Penzone created an internal auditing system to ensure that all crimes against children are thoroughly investigated. He also worked with experts from across the country to organize the first ever statewide school safety forum to review best practices to keep our children safe.