While Pima County deputies struggle with a failing computer system vital for access to reported crime scenes and criminal backgrounds, they are being tasked to mask over the name of their former boss Clarence Dupnik with the name of newly appointed Sheriff Chris Nanos. Posters, forms and items that bear the name of Dupnik have also been replaced with new materials bearing the name of Nanos.
According to various sources, deputies have been provided with materials for, and instructed on, the masking over of Dupnik’s name on Neighborhood Watch signs across the County. At the same time, those deputies are working with failing MDCs, which are mobile data devices used for secure access to federal, state and local databases. The MDCs, according to one manufacturer of the in-car computer system, give “officers first-hand knowledge of mission critical information.” First responders use the computer to get “key details on people, places and property to help speed decision making and response,” according to Motorola.
In an area as large as Pima County, MDCs are crucial especially in light of the fact that deputies travel alone and in very remote areas.
The Sheriff’s Department website notes that Neighborhood Watch programs can be found all over the county, from rural neighborhoods to new developments.
Pima County-style politics is often compared to Chicago-style politics and now it appears that there is one more point of comparison. Chicago is well-known for signage posted in the devastated south side parks touting the hard work of area alderman. It is not unusual to see banners reading “proudly brought to you by alderman” so-and-so strung up in front of drug infested, and dilapidated public properties. Nanos’ taped signs across the County, which is home to Arizona’s most dangerous city, struck many as ironic.
The irony of the fact that the same deputies are being denied overtime when a crime or crisis forces them to work beyond the normal eight hour shirt because the County is financially strapped, is lost on no one. Not only are they denied overtime, the normal rate of pay is far lower than their counterparts across Arizona.
Sources report that forms, posters, and other signage materials are being printed with Nanos’ name to the tune of thousands of dollars. With crack PR man Jeff Nordensson now working with the Sheriff’s Department, Nanos has a public relations machine with the requisite campaign-style collateral. Nordensson was named Communications Director for Pima County in 2013, and his shift to the Sheriff’s Department signaled to many that Nanos is pulling out the big guns to ensure that he will be elected to the spot to which he was appointed this year.
In July, Nanos was appointed Sheriff by the Pima County Sheriff, amid growing concerns. Morale in the Department sunk to an all-time low when Nanos ignored deputies’ requests for STEP increases they were promised and transitioned the Department into “campaign central.”
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