Contempt hearing sought against Joe Arpaio’s successor

AP via MSN ^ | 11 Mar 2021 | JACQUES BILLEAUD

[blueplum]

so Penzone was in the weeds two years into the job. I don't recall Sheriff Joe having that big a backlog.

[DannyTN]

I don't buy that it takes 500 days on average per case. I think they could get a handle on this if they tried. Make three stacks.

• Sort the cases by officer. And start looking at the officers who have the most complaints.
• Sort the anonymous complaints and look to see if there is a way to verify or discredit the complaint. Or if there is even enough info provided to investigate. I bet a lot of these complaints can be discharged quickly.
• Look for complaints that can be either backed up or refuted by video. Review those because they can probably be adjudicated quickly.

[DannyTN]

Stack 4. Consider the seriousness of the complaint. For those complaints that are not that serious, perhaps give department wide training and close all related complaints covered by the training.

Those that are serious need to have a more formal review.

But I understand sometimes drug dealers and criminals file false complaints to make the police back off or to get an effective officer discharged.

[pepsionice]

Various people from Phoenix will suggest that over the last decade of Arpaio...backlogs were starting to exist and be noticeable. I don’t know if the quantity equals the current mess, but I’d suggest it’s an overarching issue with crime and laws requiring a heck of a lot of time to settle.

I don’t think the current legal system (not just in Phoenix) is built to serve this many ‘customers’.

[Does so]

Alinsky: “Overload the system”.