Arizona Sheriffs Association: We need double current funds for border-related enforcement
A group of Arizona sheriffs say they need more funding from the state to assist with border-related crimes like drug smuggling.
Governor Katie Hobbs put more than $12 million in state money toward funding local law enforcement along the border, but Yavapai County Sheriff David Rhodes says more funds are needed.
"We’re asking the Legislature and the governor to double the amount of funding available for those counties so that we can meet the rising demands and the anticipated demands," he said.
Rhodes is part of the Arizona Sheriffs Association — a group that includes several sheriffs offices, including two along the border. In a letter this week, the group asked Hobbs to double their allotment of state funds in the 2025 budget.
The group says the money would help counties interdict and prosecute border-related crimes like smuggling. Cochise County — one of Arizona’s four border counties — is already receiving some $40 million in state funds for that same effort.
