The Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office has been doing background checks on members of its volunteer posses, and Sun City West’s posse is ahead of schedule.
Sun City West has one of the largest posses in the Valley at 69 volunteers. The Sheriff’s Office said 63 of those people have finished all necessary background screenings.
“As those individuals complete the process and they are finished, they can start to return to work,” said Chief Deputy Sheriff Russ Skinner. The MCSO hopes to have all of Sun City West’s posse back by March 15.
Posse members patrol, do search and rescue, and some of them are armed.
In January, Maricopa County Sheriff Paul Penzone announced only four of 235 armed posse members (known as Qualified Armed Posse) Valley-wide had been working with proper screening. That includes a background check, personal history and review, polygraph, psychological exam, urinalysis, and firearm qualification.
The sheriff’s office has suspended the law enforcement work of the posses while it conducts the six-part screening. MCSO is hoping to have them all done by the end of March.
At the same press conference, Penzone said at least 50 county-owned firearms had been stolen or missing before his tenure started in early 2017.
