What is Operation Stonegarden?
According to the Tactical Operational Plan, the objective of a Stonegarden deployment is as follows, "THIS IS NOT A ZERO TOLERANCE DEPLOYMENT. Patrol officers working on this deployment will concentrate on VIOLENT CRIME and quality of life issues specific to the areas assigned. These include but are not limited to GANG MEMBER IDENTIFICATION, violence reduction, narcotic activity, property crime reduction and other on-site activity an officer not on a call would work. Officers are encouraged to exercise all discretion normally available to them, including deflection. All contacts shall be documented at a minimum, with a written warning for traffic or a J-John for any other contact."
These deployments take place in high-crime areas. They consist of police personnel that work on their days off. In other words, if not for these deployments, these cops would be enjoying a day off. They are paid at their overtime rate as these deployments are in addition to their 40-hour work week. The federal government picks up the tab using grant funds - even mileage on the patrol vehicles is reimbursed.
Unfortunately, these deployments have become heavily politicized. Critics of Operation Stonegarden fear that local police officers would be enforcing federal immigration laws. We at Tucson's Corrupt Leadership.com believe you are capable of making up your own mind based on facts. So here they are: The actual Stonegarden statistics from the Tucson Police Department from 2017, 2018, and 2019 are accessible below. No matter where you are on the political spectrum, most would agree that getting guns out of the hands of criminals is a good thing.
In January 2020, two things happened: Tucson Mayor Regina Romero pledged her support to the Mayors Against Illegal Guns Organization, and the Tucson Police Department decided it would no longer accept funding for Stonegarden deployments.
During the deployments of 2017, 2018, and 2019 Tucson Police personnel took 58 guns off the street. 7 people were referred to US Border Patrol (2017 - 5 people, 2018 - 2 people, 2019 - 0 people).
Feel free to peruse the numbers below and decide for yourself. As always, thanks for stopping by!