Matt Gress Announces the “Save Our Streets Plan”

PHOENIX – State legislative candidate, Matt Gress, current State Budget Director, announced the “Save Our Streets Plan” today to provide critical resources to law enforcement, prosecutors and state courts that will protect Arizonans from the rising fentanyl crisis and deliver justice for victims of dangerous crimes. The plan is designed to send a clear message to those engaging in criminal, illegal activities that they will be held accountable for their inhumane actions.

Gress is teaming up on the proposal with top Arizona law enforcement officials who have dedicated their careers to strengthening public safety, including: Sheriff David Rhodes, Sheriff Mark Dannels, the Arizona Troopers Association, Phoenix Law Enforcement Association, Glendale Law Enforcement Association and the Arizona Police Association.

“The Save Our Streets Plan will make sure that crime really does pay,” said Matt Gress. “Violent crime rates have increased, our police force has an alarming shortage and fentanyl is the deadliest drug our state and country have ever encountered; from our border counties to the Phoenix-Metropolitan area, no community is safe from this poison. Families are suffering, small businesses are being crushed and the victims of crimes are being forgotten. We must give our law enforcement heroes the means to fight back against this evil and we must give our prosecutors all the tools necessary to make our streets safe once more,” continued Gress.

DETAILS OF THE PLAN

  • Back the Blue by Budgeting for the Blue

    • Establish a minimum threshold cities and towns MUST budget for police. 

    • Require municipalities to report to the Arizona Peace Officer Standards and Training(AZPOST) Board on their annual budget for police officers.

    • If a municipality fails to reasonably budget for enough police to meet that 2.5 patrol officers per 1,000 residents standard, the Save Our Streets Plan will require that jurisdiction to submit a staffing and recruiting plan to be monitored and implemented over a reasonable amount of time to achieve the Save Our Streets coverage standard.

  • Expand the Talent Pipeline for Law Enforcement

    • Establish a new Criminal Justice Academy at Arizona’s universities and community colleges, in coordination with AZPOST so graduates can receive their certification and be hirable right away.  

    • Offer tuition-free education and training to police and correctional officers in exchange for a commitment to work in some law enforcement capacity for a set number of years – will be funded as a public-private partnership between the State, cities and towns, and insurance companies.

    • Include investments on the K-12 level by providing high schools with grants to fund Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) and other police/first responder training programs that allow our future workforce to learn more about excellent careers in law enforcement and public safety.

    • Include State tuition assistance at Career and Technical Education programs, community colleges and universities for spouses and dependents of law enforcement and first responders personnel.

  • Establish a Fentanyl Strike Task Force Dedicated to Combating Illegal Drug Trafficking

    • State will provide grants for state and local law enforcement agencies to hire staff exclusively dedicated to arresting and reversing Arizona’s fentanyl crisis.

    • Provide grant funding to county attorney offices and the courts to allow for the speedy prosecution and adjudication of the expected increase in drug cases.

  • Toughen the Penalty For Drug Dealers Pedaling Lethal Fentanyl and Marketing to Children

    • Include the possession and distribution of lethal doses of fentanyl as well as pills that are designed to appeal to children and young adults (e.g., “rainbow” fentanyl) under A.R.S. §13-3407 which currently governs the prosecution of drug users, dealers and manufacturers of methamphetamine.

    • Pursue harsher punishments for drug dealers who possess and intend to distribute lethal doses of fentanyl – even if drug dealers are unaware they possess such doses. This change has the promise of preventing many more deaths of unsuspecting Americans by significantly disrupting the supply chain.

WHAT DOES THIS PLAN MEAN FOR COMMUNITIES?

  • Supporting Our Police 

    • The Save Our Streets plan will defend police budgets from short-sighted municipalities that seek to defund the police and instead make Arizona a destination for law enforcement. 

    • The plan will improve the working conditions for our police officers with better pay, better patrol staffing and better educational opportunities for our heroes in blue and their families. 

  • Disrupting the Cartels

    • We can support our law enforcement to combat illegal drug use in Arizona by holding the cartels and their dealers fully accountable for the poison they are bringing into our state and country. 

ADDITIONAL SUPPORT

Sheriff Mark Dannels, Cochise County

“Arizona law enforcement led the nation with over 5 million fentanyl dosage seizures in 2021 and sadly, this is the trend for 2022. This issue has become life-and-death and the legislature must team up with law enforcement to keep our communities safe. The Save Our Streets Plan is the best operational plan to strengthen law enforcement efforts and makes great strides at keeping Arizona safe. I’m proud to support this initiative.”

Sheriff David Rhodes, Yavapai County

“If we are going to maintain public safety and reverse current violent crime trends we need a bold plan. Matt’s Save Our Streets is exactly that. It covers the entire spectrum from enforcement, to treatment which are all necessary for safe communities.”

PLEA

“The Save Our Streets Plan aligns with our mission to keep our communities safe and provide law enforcement officers with the resources to do their jobs. We continue to face a critical workforce shortage as crime rates and fentanyl seizures increase. This plan will expand the talent pipeline for law enforcement and ensure much needed funding as we manage this crisis and keep Arizona families safe.”

APA

“We fully support Matt’s Save Our Streets Plan because it will give our police officers exactly what they need to keep Arizona safe. The workforce shortage is severely hurting our profession and communities. This full-scale plan focuses on solving this critical issue by working with educators to empower the next generation of law enforcement officers while making sure the state properly and responsibly invests in Arizona’s public safety system.”