MOHAVE COUNTY – Mohave County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) is made up of several different divisions and units, including administration, patrol, search and rescue, K9, volunteer posse, civil, detective, boating safety and detention.
No one division or unit is more important than the other, but the one division with “boots on the ground” or in this case – in their vehicles and boats, is the deputies assigned to the Patrol Division.
Sheriff Doug Schuster is very proud of the hard-working men and women assigned to the Patrol Division. “Our primary goal is to combat crime while ensuring the safety and security of our communities and neighborhoods,” Sheriff Schuster said.
Patrol Division deputies are responsible for handling everyday calls for service while providing high visibility patrols to deter crime.
These deputies are responsible for the 13,461 square-miles of land and waterways located within Mohave County – the second largest county in Arizona and the fifth largest in the contiguous U.S.
Of the abovementioned square miles, the deputies patrol 10,049 miles of roads, only of which 807 miles are hard-served county roads, U.S. highways and/or interstates, and the rest are dirt roads – either maintained or not by the county.
“Our Patrol Division is finally close to be completely staffed which is a far cry from the day I took office with 18 out of 51 patrol positions vacant, the Sheriff said. “We have added six more patrol deputies to the street and will continue to seek staffing growth until our levels are acceptable. In the meantime, we are already seeing great results.
“We track all criminal activity reported to our office and are very pleased that property crimes such as burglaries and thefts have been significantly reduced,” he said. “Our patrol deputies finally have more time to conduct in depth investigations.” We are making a big impact, and we are solving crimes on a daily basis.”
There are currently only 55 deputies, of the 57 slots available, who work at 10-hour shift in the Patrol Division and their ages range from 21 to 65 years old. In addition, there are 10 patrol sergeants and four patrol lieutenants.
MCSO deputies also assist incorporated city agencies such as Kingman, Bullhead City and Lake Havasu City, counties outside of Mohave County, other states and federal agencies through mutual aid agreements.
In addition to the main MCSO facility in Kingman, there are four substations located within Mohave County – Mohave Valley and Havasu service the River District and Beaver Dam and Colorado City serves the Arizona Strip.
The Patrol Division is broken down into five areas. It includes:
• Kingman District, headed up by Lieutenant S. Padilla, consists of- Kingman, Golden Valley, Katherine Heights, Davis Camp, Yucca, Wikieup, Truxton, Nothing Arizona Cedar Hills and all the way to milepost 93.7 on Interstate 40;
• River District, headed up by Lieutenant J. Salvino, consists of two areas – River District North- Fort Mohave, Mohave Valley, Oatman, Golden Shores/Topock and the Colorado River from Bullhead City to the Interstate 40 bridge at Topock; and River District South- Desert Hills, Havasu Heights, Horizon Six and all desert areas outside Lake Havasu City limits.
• The Division of Boating Safety, headed up by Lieutenant K. Thompson, covers Lake Havasu, the Colorado River north of Lake Havasu and part of Lake Alamo.
• Northwest Area, headed up by Lieutenant S. Padilla – consists of Chloride, Dolan Springs, Meadview, Mead City, White Hills and all areas north to the Hoover Dam outside of the National Park Service jurisdiction which starts approximately at milepost 13 on US Highway 93.
• Arizona Strip, headed up by Lieutenant T. Nelson, consists of Beaver Dam, Littlefield, Scenic, Cedar Pocket on the west side. Centennial, Cane Beds on the East side. They also handle all areas not patrolled by BLM on Mt. Trumbull loop and to the Grand Canyon.
The deputies of the Patrol Division have the authority to enforce laws anywhere in the state of Arizona as they are Arizona State certified peace officers. Deputies adhere to the jurisdictional boundaries that are in place and normally will not handle calls for service outside of their jurisdictions unless requested to do so by the agency having jurisdiction.
In most states and counties, such as Mohave County, any law enforcement officer has statewide authority. The difference is the geographical areas that are patrolled.
MCSO has assigned individual deputies to these extra duties and they are prepared to respond at a moment’s notice. These deputies keep their assigned equipment in their vehicles and can be activated immediately.
Such extra responsibilities include the advanced collision investigation team, the SWAT team, the Dive Unit, and the K9 Unit.
The K9 Unit is averaging eight to 10 assists each month.
Deputies assigned to the Patrol Division are making a big impact on the war on drugs and are helping solve crimes on a daily basis.
- Butch Meriwether
