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Sheriff Paul Penzone puts Tent City, fugitive arrests on 100-day plan

Posted at 7:29 AM, Jan 19, 2017
and last updated 2017-01-19 19:51:30-05

Maricopa County's new sheriff released his plan for his first 100 days in office on Thursday afternoon.

Last November, Paul Penzone beat long-standing sheriff, Joe Arpaio.

Penzone, a Democrat, outlined his plans to increase public safety, better train employees and improve community relations.

He said he will get rid of the cold case posse which investigated President Obama's birth certificate.

"Their privileges are either suspended or removed as a posse member," Penzone said.  "They will receive a formal notification from this organization that they no longer have that right to represent as a member or an extension of it."

The sheriff also said he will be reviewing the future of Tent City jail, and he is asking a newly-formed citizen advisory group to make a recommendation.  

"I will not make decisions based off of  assumptions, so the reason I empowered this group is I want then to dig into the data and the facts," Penzone said.

"Things are going to be done for public safety reasons and not for publicity," said Grant Woods, chairman of the committee and a former Arizona attorney general.

Penzone wants to increase MCSO's fugitive arrests.

"We will make a concerted effort to track down, apprehend, and hold accountable those who are wanted," Penzone said. "You don't get a free pass. If you committed a crime and we know it, we're going to get you."

Sheriff Penzone says he will continue the agency's MASH unit which focuses on animal welfare, but he wants to seek out opinions from animal care experts for improvements.

"I don't want to see animals that just have a life, I want animals to have a quality of life," Penzone said. "We have to do a better job adopting animals out to good families. We have to do a better job how we care and the costs related to that care."