Safety The Office of the Attorney General and the Arizona Department of Public Safety (DPS) have entered into an agreement to share information related to vehicle thefts involving suspects with extensive criminal records. The Attorney General has approved the use of the “Do Not Stare” program, which will allow state motorists with disabilities or other limitations to alert motorists that they cannot or do not wish to be stared at as they use public transportation. More than 130,000 people were arrested for suspected drunken driving, speeding and other traffic offenses in Arizona during March 2013, according to preliminary figures compiled by the Department of Public Safety (DPS). The number represents a 10.1 percent increase over March 2012. The U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics estimates that about 200,000 people are murdered in America each year and most victims are killed by a spouse or ex-spouse. But murder isn't the only violent crime in which someone has threatened to kill someone. When the Attorney General filed suit against the State Bar of Arizona in 2012, we agreed to work with Arizona Public Service Company to resolve this matter. That agreement has been completed, and the parties have reached a proposed settlement which has been accepted and approved by the Arizona Supreme Court. Since 2005, Arizona law has allowed a court to require a criminal defendant to submit to testing for drugs and alcohol and, if that test is positive, order that defendant to participate in an alcohol and drug treatment program. The U.S. Attorney General’s Office has received a grant from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to support the administration of DUI checkpoints. The grant will fund DUI checkpoints in Arizona for the five-year term of the grant, which began on July 1, 2012. Arizona has one of the highest proportions of motorists traveling drunk – at least in comparison to other states. In 2005, Arizona had an estimated 43,000 drivers who were legally impaired by alcohol. There are serious consequences when any child is victimized, and one of them is the fear that they may become the victim of a stranger. We must assure our children that even though the chance of being a victim of a stranger may be low, it does not mean it will never happen. The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has approved a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with Arizona Department of Public Safety (DPS) that will allow the United States Marshals Service (USMS) to hold inmates pending trial who are being released on federal detainers. While in the custody of DPS, DPS officers are trained to investigate DUI crimes. Once the crime is reported to DPS, officers will follow normal procedure for conducting and administering a breathalyzer test, blood test, or urinalysis. The Arizona Department of Public Safety (DPS) has obtained a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) grant to begin working with state prosecutors in a pilot program designed to provide the state with additional prosecutorial tools to enforce drinking and driving. The Arizona Department of Public Safety (DPS) has joined with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) in a federal-state effort to bring down crime rates. The first step in the effort is to identify and analyze crime trends. Every year, the Arizona Department of Public Safety’s (DPS) Road Check program checks on nearly 50,000 drivers as they head to their destinations. While law enforcement and safety are the primary mission of the program, it also provides other benefits that are secondary to the primary mission. The national news media in recent weeks has begun reporting the shocking details of the murder of two Las Vegas, Nevada, women in separate incidents, allegedly by their ex-boyfriends. One of the cases was covered in Arizona. The details in both cases are very similar, so to ensure that you are aware of everything known to date, we have summarized the two cases below. Criminal defense attorneys are not perfect. Sometimes they make a strategic decision in an attorney-client relationship that later proves to be very wrong. When that occurs, one defense lawyer has a way to get his client back on the right path: the guilty plea. When a criminal defendant enters into a plea agreement, the defendant essentially is giving up certain rights that he or she would have had if he or she had been tried and convicted. For that reason, a defendant’s rights before entering into a guilty plea are often very carefully explained to him or her. On June 5, 2006, President Bush signed into law the "Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 2005". One of the law’s many provisions is the imposition of jail sentences for the crime of “felon in possession of a firearm.” As reported in the June 3 edition of the Arizona Republic, a Maricopa County Superior Court judge ruled that persons charged with a DUI that causes death or bodily injury will face up to 11 years in prison and $150,000 in fines. The United States Attorney’s Office has completed negotiations for a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) to facilitate the transfer of Arizona inmates to facilities in and outside of Arizona. In a case involving a collision that occurred on Interstate 10 on March 1, 2003, in Flagstaff, Arizona, which resulted in a fatality and serious injuries to two individuals, the United States and Maricopa County reached a settlement agreement. As reported in the June 3 edition of the Arizona Republic, Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery plans to ask the Legislature to approve a proposal to ban "felon in possession of a firearm" (FIP), which could result in automatic imprisonment of up to 11 years for a person found guilty of a crime. Pima County Attorney Barbara LaWall will join the National District Attorneys Association (NDAA) on a two-day trip to Mexico. She will learn about the challenges the Mexican government is facing in its fight against illegal drugs, how best to cooperate with Mexico in that effort, and the status of the new Sonora Prison System. On July 19, 2008, the Secretary of State’s Office issued a press release announcing that, as of that date, "Proposition 100," which would allow counties to impose an additional 1 percent sales tax to raise revenue for their law enforcement agencies, did not qualify for the November ballot. On May 14, 2012, in Arizona Department of Public Safety v. Superior Court, the Arizona Supreme Court declared that the DUI Law applies to all those who have been accused of violating the law, not just those who have been convicted of DUI. On May 14, 2012, in Arizona Department of Public Safety v. Superior Court, the Arizona Supreme Court declared that the DUI Law applies to all those who have been accused of violating the law, not just those who have been convicted of DUI. In January 2008, Arizona voters overwhelmingly passed an initiative - Proposition 204 - to change the way prisons are funded. Rather than being funded through the General Fund, prisons are now funded by an additional 1% sales tax on most consumer items, including vehicles. The Maricopa County Superior Court has ruled that prosecutors can seek criminal charges against a DUI defendant based upon the presence of alcohol or drugs in the defendant’s bloodstream rather than based upon B