By Rusty Bradshaw

Independent Newsmedia

Sun Cities residents may see more Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office patrols in their communities beginning next month.

Capt. Paul Chagolla, MCSO District 3 commander, shared with the Sun City Home Owners Association Roads and Safety Committee he plans to implement a new shift schedule that will put deputies on the streets in the two age-restricted communities. The new shift schedule is expected to start Monday, Feb. 12, he said.

Getting more deputies on patrol does not mean the district gained new personnel. Rather, it is a reallocation of existing manpower to get more patrols.

“We are the busiest and most active division in the county,” Mr. Chagolla said.

District 3 is the second largest of the seven MCSO division, including the Lake Patrol, but has the highest call volume, according to information on the MCSO website, www.mcso.org. It covers more than 1,600 square miles from the Yavapai County line to Northern Avenue and from I-17 to the La Paz County line. District 3 is staffed by 80 personnel, including 60 deputies, 14 sergeants, three lieutenants, two support staff and the captain. Personnel at other districts are 75 in District 2, 71 in District 1, 55 in Lake Patrol, 48 in District 6, 47 in Distrrict 4 and 34 in District 7.

Jim Powell, Sun City Home Owners Association Roads and Safety Committee chairman, said an increased MCSO presence in the two communities will be a welcome sight.

“We need more enforcement in the community,” he said.

Mr. Powell has long advocated for a single deputy in Sun City and another in Sun City West designated for traffic enforcement. Mr. Chagolla did not specify just what the increased patrols would look like or whether there would be designated traffic patrol.

“We are trying to get the most out of our manpower,” he said.

Shortly after taking command of District 3 last year, Mr. Chagolla implemented a program that called for residents to report, through an online reporting form that was also available at the two Sun Cities Posse offices, crime in their area. It was hoped this would help map the areas of the communities that had the most crime and traffic issues. Results of that reporting and MCSO’s calls for service could soon be shared with residents.

“We are working with the SCHOA in Sun City and PORA in Sun City West for activity reports so residents will know what is happening in their communities,” Mr. Chagolla said.

Some type of activity report is expected to be available in the coming months, he added. Those reports will be provided to SCHOA and PORA to share with residents.

While the Sun City Posse de-affiliated from MCSO Nov. 1, 2017, the all-volunteer agency continues to work closely with the sheriff’s office, according to Tim Lambin, Sun City Posse operations officer.

“We still meet with them regularly,” he said.

The Sun City West Posse remains affiliated with MCSO. Both agencies also work closely with the fire departments in their respective communities, according to Mr. Lambin.

“Anything they need we try to help,” he said. “If we can’t do it, we can find a resource.”

Mr. Chagolla also said MCSO deputies obtained training in the use of Narcan and now carry it with them for emergency use. Narcan (naloxone) is an opiate antidote. Opioids include heroin and prescription pain pills, like morphine, codeine, oxycodone, methadone and Vicodin. When a person is overdosing on an opioid, breathing can slow down or stop and it can very hard to wake them from this state.

Narcan is a prescription medicine that blocks the effects of opioids and reverses an overdose. It cannot be used to get a person high. If given to a person who has not taken opioids, it will not have any effect on him or her, since there is no opioid overdose to reverse.

“The deputies have had a lot of training on when to administer Narcan,” Mr. Chagolla said.