Mohave sheriff to hire 2 for Utah-Arizona border patrol
 
By Ben Winslow
Deseret Morning News
 
The Mohave County Sheriff's Office in Arizona is planning to hire two new police officers to patrol the vast area along the Utah-Arizona border, including the polygamous enclave of Colorado City, Ariz.

"We're hoping to have more law enforcement out and visible in that area," said Sandy Edwards, a background specialist with the sheriff's office.

She recently posted the job openings and has taken out a newspaper advertisement to drum up interest in the positions, which have a $40,500-a-year starting pay plus benefits. The sheriff's office wants to increase its presence in Colorado City but said police resources have been stretched thin in the vast desert area known as the Arizona Strip.

"We only had a total of five officers to patrol that entire area," Edwards said. "When you're talking four guys in Beaver Dam and then Colorado City, it's a pretty good travel time."

Problems in the polygamous communities of Hildale, Utah, and Colorado City, Ariz., are also of concern to the sheriff's office. There has been a divide among Fundamentalist LDS Church faithful and "apostates," with ex-members of the polygamous sect claiming the local police refuse to help them.

The Hildale/Colorado City Town Marshal's Office has faced scrutiny over officers' loyalties to FLDS leader Warren Jeffs, with several being stripped of their badges in Utah and Arizona. Jeffs is serving prison time for performing a child bride marriage.

"We'd like to focus on the Colorado City area and the issues going on there," Edwards said. "We'll be more present if victims want to talk to us. We'll be more visible."

The Washington County Sheriff's Office has a deputy patrolling Hildale.

In the neighboring community of Centennial Park, some residents say an increased police presence is overdue.

"We've been complaining to the (Mohave County) sheriff for years," said Ann Wright of the Centennial Park Action Committee.

She said the Colorado City town marshals can only respond to their community on an emergency basis and the response to something like a vandalism or a stray dog can take weeks.

"Sometimes they never come out," she said. "We've had people assaulted and stuff, and there hasn't been any real police presence here."

Edwards said they have been looking to recruit people who live in Utah or Nevada to cut down on travel time in the enormous county.

"We'd like to get more staffing in that area," she said. "We need more officers in that area. Mohave County is growing and expanding."

E-mail: bwinslow@desnews.com
 
deseretnews.com
Originally published Sunday, December 23, 2007
 
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