The passage of Senate Bill 1013 gave the Arizona Criminal Justice Commission the responsibility for distributing Fill the Gap funds to the county attorneys and indigent defense agencies throughout the state. The formula for distributing Fill the Gap funds to each county is based on the average number of cases filed over a three-year period and the population of each county. Along with the Commission’s fiduciary responsibilities, A.R.S. §41-2409 requires ACJC to report on an annual basis each agency’s progress toward improving criminal case processing.

In early 2009, an Exploratory Committee was formed to investigate the potential creation of a Veterans Court in Maricopa County, Arizona. The Committee’s initial efforts have focused on examining existing Veterans Courts and determining the size and scope of the problem (i.e., the number of veterans in the county jail). This report provides an overview of information on veterans in the Maricopa County Jail System, drawing on data collected by the Arizona Arrestee Reporting Information Network (AARIN). This report is intended to assist the work of the Veterans Court Exploratory Committee.

Several jurisdictions across the United States have created specialized Veterans Courts, which employ a drug court-adapted therapeutic approach to funnel justice system-involved veterans to counseling and support services that are closely monitored by the court. Despite the emergence of Veterans Courts, little is known regarding the prevalence of military veterans in the criminal justice system, the nature of their cases and prior experiences, as well how combat-related conditions such as PTSD or TBI may have contributed to their involvement in the system. This report seeks to address the knowledge gap in this area through an examination of 2,102 recently booked arrestees in Maricopa County, Arizona. Using interview data from the Arizona Arrestee Reporting Information Network (AARIN), the report characterizes the problems and prior experiences of military veterans, and to compare veteran and nonveteran arrestees along a range of demographic, background and criminal behavior measures. The overall objectives of the paper are to determine the prevalence of military veterans in the Maricopa County arrestee population and to assess the extent to which the arrested veterans differ from the larger arrestee population.

This report seeks to address the knowledge gap in understanding the relationship between combat-related conditions such as PTSD and TBI and involvement in the criminal justice system, through an examination of 1,370 recently booked arrestees in Maricopa County, Arizona. Using interview data from the Arizona Arrestee Reporting Information Network (AARIN), the report characterizes the problems and prior experiences of military veterans, and compares veteran and nonveteran arrestees along a range of demographic, background and criminal behavior measures. The overall objectives of the report are to provide an ongoing estimate of the prevalence of military veterans in the Maricopa County arrestee population and to assess the extent to which the arrested veterans differ from the larger arrestee population.

This report of the Indian Firming Study Commission will provide as background an overview and description of the State’s obligation for Indian Firming and an overview of the modeling efforts completed by Arizona Department of Water Resources staff to determine the estimated volumetric obligation for Indian Firming. Additionally, this report will summarize the solution elements reviewed by the Study Commission, including the water supply availability analysis and a review of the estimated cost and availability of funds to meet the obligation. Finally, the report will provide the recommendations from the Study Commission to the Arizona Legislature.