Maricopa County will spend about $5 million on a new plane for the Sheriff’s Office to extradite criminal suspects arrested outside of Arizona.
Officials say the plane used by the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office is almost 50 years old, prisoners and crew are wedged in together, and the fuel the model runs on costs an extra $3 per gallon.
Jim Prindiville, chief financial officer for the Sheriff’s Office, told the Board of Supervisors that the new plane will improve safety and efficiency.
“We mainly go to California and Texas for most of our extradition trips. There is so many times when we could pick up four, five, six inmates. But instead we’re flying back and forth six times,” Prindiville said.
He also told the board that it will take decades for a return on its investment, but the new plane should last for an additional 15 to 20 years. The old plane is so small that prisoners are breathing on the necks of the pilot and flight officer.
“We bounce around in these little planes and we get a lot of sick inmates. So that’s not always pleasant,” Prindiville said.
The new plane has enough room for a crew and six or seven prisoners per flight.
Five to 15% pay raises for sheriff’s deputies, ranked positions, dispatchers and other emergency staff are also part of Maricopa County’s newly approved budget.
And $30 million was recently approved as pay and retention bonuses for Maricopa detention officers.
