Special Units
Air Support Unit
One of the PCSO Air Support Unit’s primary functions is search and rescue. The unit's main craft, a UH-1V "Huey" rotorcraft helicopter, was obtained through the military surplus program [6] and is equipped with a hoist to assist in rescues. [7] The Air Unit regularly flies Operation Stonegarden missions, [8] assisting the U.S. Border Patrol in its efforts.
Anti-Smuggling Unit
The Anti-Smuggling Unit (ASU) is composed of a Sergeant and six Investigators. All operate out of the Criminal Investigations Bureau of the Pinal County Sheriff's Office. The unit targets criminal groups involved in human and drug smuggling. [9] ASU also partners with U.S. Border patrol and Homeland Security.
ASU typically patrols a five-mile stretch of land between the reservation and I-8, attempting to apprehend those crossing illegally there. [10] This desert area south of Maricopa, situated approximately 70 miles north of the border, sees some of the most drug trafficking activity in the Southwest. [11] Smugglers cross the U.S.- Mexico border and walk through the desert for up to a week, until they reach the I-8 corridor. ASU's patrolling of this corridor is often the last line of defense before smuggled drugs enter the Phoenix area. [12] PCSO estimates 40% percent of all drugs in the United States enter through Arizona.
K-9 Unit
The Pinal County Sheriff's Office K-9 Unit consists of six handler teams. [13]
Four teams support Patrol with the interdiction of drugs entering and passing through Pinal County along major roadways and highways. K-9s regularly intercept loads of counterfeit fentanyl pills being smuggled along the I-10. [14] In 2017, PCSO K-9s discovered 550 pounds of marijuana, seven pounds of meth, 69 pounds of heroin and 53 pounds of cocaine. [15]
Two more K-9 teams are assigned to the Adult Detention Center to assist in maintaining order and detect any contraband attempting to be smuggled into the Adult Detention Facility. The Pinal County Sheriff’s Office has been using K-9’s to serve and protect the County of Pinal for more than 40-years. [13]
Narcotics Task Force
The Pinal County Narcotics Task Force is a multi-agency task force composed of an administrative Sergeant, an operations Sergeant, nine Investigators and an administrative secretary. The PCNTF is tasked with investigating, prosecuting, disrupting and dismantling individuals and/or groups involved in possession, sales, manufacturing, cultivating, trafficking and smuggling of illegal drugs in or through Pinal County and surrounding areas. On average, PCNTF investigates approximately 200 of these case types annually. [16]
All operate out of the Criminal Investigations Bureau of the Pinal County Sheriff's Office. The Task Force is a High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) program Initiative/Task Force, which falls under the Southwest HIDTA Group. [17]
Search and Rescue
The Search and Rescue Unit conducts day and night mobile SAR operations, sometimes during adverse weather conditions, in both urban and wilderness environments. Deputies are on call 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, and at a moment's notice to provide assistance in a crisis. [18] The SAR Unit searches for children, [19] the elderly, [20] unprepared and injured hikers, [21] lost hunters and downed aircraft. [22]
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