Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs announced new funding to support border security

(The Center Square) - Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs announced new funding to support law enforcement on border security issues Friday.

Hobbs, Yavapai County Sheriff David Rhodes, and Prescott Valley Police Department Chief Bob Ticer said that $1.5 million would be allocated to Yavapai County law enforcement agencies to assist mainly with combating drug and human trafficking.

“We know that crimes that happen at the southern border don’t stay there,” Hobbs said at a press conference.

Although Yavapai County, which includes Prescott, is not geographically a border community, the mass migration issue has impacted law enforcement operations across the state.

“Fentanyl is unfortunately the number one problem that we’re seeing,” Rhodes said.

“But we also see things like human smuggling,” the sheriff later added.

In addition, Rhodes said that there are concerns statewide about staffing issues in law enforcement and corrections, which he said could make border woes worse.

“So there is a strong commitment from the state, from the governor’s office, to fund and assist public safety, not just here in Yavapai County, but all over the state,” he said.

Federal, state, and local law enforcement frequently seize fentanyl in Arizona, which sometimes impacts Yavapai County directly.

Earlier this month, a suspect was booked at Yavapai County Jail after a state trooper seized 54 pounds of fentanyl pills, along with methamphetamine, in the suspect’s car bound for Denver, Colorado, according to a news release from the Arizona Department of Public Safety.