Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos Wants To Reform Law Enforcement

TUCSON, AZ — Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos has a plan to reform law enforcement in Southern Arizona.

Nanos, who was re-elected as sheriff in 2020 after being unseated by Republican challenger Mark Napier in 2016, released his blueprint on Tuesday.

His four-step approach centers around providing steps to show the community that law enforcement personnel are not above the law, including the establishment of community-based incident teams and community boards to evaluate use of force by law enforcement agents.

"It is extremely important to me that all members of this department serve the public with professionalism, courtesy, and respect," Nanos said in a statement. "Police officers and deputies are NOT above the law and although this career is demanding, stressful, and we put our lives on the line daily, we can do better."

The four items that Nanos highlights are as follows:

1. Providing all deputies and officers with body cameras to provide, as Nanos says, "Transparency, accountability, and protection to members of the public and my deputies." Nanos continues on the subject, saying, "I believe this is the first step to facilitate much needed police reform and I do not plan to stop there."
2. Creating a regional Critical Incident Team to handle investigations of in-custody deaths and police shootings. "This will allow member agencies in this region (Sahuarita, Oro Valley, Marana, South Tucson, Pima County, or Tucson Airport Authority) to investigate an in-custody death or officer involved shooting that would otherwise be left to the involved agency," Nanos said in his statement.
3. Creating a community board to assess department policies that impact the training of PCSD's deputies and their approach to discipline and accountability. "It is my intention to select members from the community who are representative of the population of Pima County and who bring a diversity of experiences and backgrounds to ensure a blanced and thoughtful approach to these issues," Nanos said in a statement.
4. Reducing the population of Pima County's jails, by connecting those suffering from mental illness and addiction with needed resources and treatment options. "Jail is for dangerous criminals, not for people suffering from illnesses," Nanos said in a statement. "By working with our courts, prosecutors, and defense attorneys to find jail alternatives for those serving time in our jails for low level, nonviolent misdemeanors, we not only provide for a safer community, we also save taxpayers millions of dollars."

Nanos said that his four-step plan toward law enforcement reform could save the county millions of dollars, while rebuilding trust with the communities of Southern Arizona.

"Police interact with the public in a variety of settings and the reactions they get from the community can range from affirmative to abusive," Nanos said in a statement. "... I am committed to ensuring our community has a positive and professional experience when they are in harm's way or in crises that require the services of sworn officers of this organization.

"I am devoted to returning the American police culture from 'warriors' to 'guardian' and restoring this profession to the worthwhile and rewarding career it is meant to be."