Arizona's AG speaker at meeting
 
By Jim Seckler
Mohave Daily News
 
KINGMAN - Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard stopped in Kingman Monday to address the county supervisors on several issues facing the county and the state.

The main issue was the fight against methamphetamine and trying to pass legislation to restrict the sell of over-the-counter pseudoephedrine and cold medicine often used to make meth.

Bullhead City, Kingman and Lake Havasu City, along with 43 other cities, have now passed laws to restrict the purchase of over-the-counter drugs at local pharmacists within city limits.

Pseudoephedrine and ephedrine are main ingredients used to make methamphetamine, the drug directly or indirectly responsible for the majority of crimes.

With the cities passing such laws, there already has been a significant reduction in the number of meth labs in the state, Goddard said.

The attorney general also spoke of the Arizona Meth Project, a project similar to the Montana Meth Project, which targets teens and young adults in ad campaigns on the dangers of using meth. Another project is MethSMART, a program through the Boys and Girls Club.

Goddard also spoke of the crackdown on child abuse, sexual molestation and other illegal crimes that have taken place in Colorado City and the polygamous sect that has controlled that city for decades.

Goddard also commended Gary Engels, the special investigator for the Mohave County Attorney Office for his work in the area as well as the recently-constructed county building in the town, which houses sheriff's deputies, Engels and staff from the state's Child Protective Service.

Also brought up was Arizona Safe Passage, which provides safe transport for victims of child abuse in Colorado City.

Another issue was Internet safety and the dangers of online sexual predators who target young teens especially girls on chat sites such as myspace.com.

"Young people think they are invulnerable," he said. "And parents often don't know there's a problem or they don't know where to go for help."

Another problem - especially in Arizona - is auto theft. This state is usually first or second in the nation is stolen cars, he said.

An attorney general's office Web site allows residents, who see a suspicious car, can go online and input a license plate or vehicle identification number to find out if it has been stolen.

Identity theft is another growing problem especially among senior citizens. Shredding personnel papers especially those with bank account numbers is one step to take.

Dist. 2 Sup. Tom Sockwell also brought up the issue of Internet scams, which target unsuspecting residents with promises of prizes or wealth.

Goddard said since many scams are done off-shore, there is not much local law enforcement can do except to educate the public.
 
MohaveDailyNews.com
Originally published Monday, January 22, 2007
 
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