It’s that time of the year when valley malls turn to Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s all-volunteer posse to provide law enforcement protection to shoppers at major malls throughout the valley.
This year’s kickoff was Monday, November 30, at 4:00 pm at the Paradise Valley Mall at 4568 E. Cactus Road.
Since 1993, when Sheriff Arpaio first sent the posse to the malls in response to a series of violent carjackings, the volunteer posse has contributed thousands of hours of nearly free law enforcement protection to almost every major mall in Phoenix and the surrounding areas.
Holiday shoppers have come to count on the uniformed posse patrol to protect them as they make their way into the malls with money in their pockets, and as they exit with gifts and packages in hand.
This year presents an extra challenge because of worldwide terror alerts and violent attacks. Whether the threat comes from organized terrorist groups or a lone deranged individual, Sheriff Arpaio believes we have to confront this new reality honestly and calmly.
“We have to understand and deal with these threats as an entire community in order to best safeguard the public. The first line of defense is of course law enforcement, and that includes the posse, which has proved itself again and again a most valuable and successful resource through the years. However, the volunteer posse can’t do it alone, so with nearly 250,000 Arizonans carrying concealed weapons, terrorist with evil intent entering large gatherings, including shopping malls, should be worried about armed citizens who will be ready to defend themselves and others.” Arpaio adds, “I expect armed citizens to take action in the event a terror attack or other violence occurs until law enforcement arrives.”
Since the inception of the mall patrol, virtually no acts of serious violence have occurred in the malls on the posse’s watch. Arpaio credits the large presence of uniformed law enforcement, marked vehicles, helicopters, horses and canines on patrol as deterrence to those who might target holiday shoppers for any number of crimes.