Two days before Passover, 17 Valley rabbis spoke out Thursday against sweeps conducted by deputies of Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio to identify and arrest illegal immigrants for deportation.

Earlier this year, John Kleinheinz spent 10 weeks away from his post as commander of the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office in Fountain Hills.

Earlier this year, John Kleinheinz spent 10 weeks away from his post as commander of the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office in Fountain Hills.

The Arizona Department of Public Safety puts out an Annual Reports on Crime in Arizona, which shows that from 2002 to 2011 the number of violent crimes in areas served by the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office increased by an incredible 41 percent, from 628 to 884 violent crimes. That’s 256 more murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults than nine years ago.

Job title: Detention Officer Sergeant, Maricopa County Sheriff’s Department; Education: Pegg has a bachelor’s of science degree in sports management and is working on a master’s degree in leadership.

There’s a new sheriff’s dog in town, and he has a new uniform.

Queen Creek’s Fire Department recently celebrated its first birthday, but another decade will likely pass before the town assembles its own police force. Last week, town officials began negotiating a contract with the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office. That pact would keep deputies patrolling Queen Creek through 2013.

Joe Arpaio is the best sheriff ever in the history of Maricopa County! No, he’s the worst Maricopa County sheriff ever!

Paul Babeu’s homosexuality is not an issue. I could not care less about that.

I think we all dreadfully expected a few ill-mannered and chronically bitter political opportunists to turn our day of crisis into a platform for misplaced blame and immature calculations about our society based on the crazed cowardice of one evil man in the Tucson massacre. However, I believe that few, if any of us, thought that such repugnant words would come from the man designated to oversee this investigation and represent our state in this time of mourning. Setting fire to any credibility he once had, Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik wasted no time or police investigational resources in coming to his exceedingly absent-minded conclusion that this event was the result of talk radio and some television programs. He went on to say that Arizona has become the "capital" or the "Mecca for prejudice and bigotry" and that the United States needs to do some "soul searching."

Editor's Note: These letters to the editor have been sorted by topic by the Tribune editorial staff in an effort to allow readers to read varied opinions on the issues, candidates, and other circumstances surrounding the 2012 general election. These submissions are the opinions of the author, not the Tribune, and have not been edited for grammar or content.

Some border county sheriffs want Arizona schools to start asking students whether they are in this country legally. Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik, who originated the idea, said Arizona taxpayers are underwriting millions of dollars of costs of teaching English to children who have no legal right to be here.

A “concentrated crackdown” on illegal immigrants started Friday night in Maricopa County. Sheriff Joe Arpaio announced he’s dispatched more than 200 deputies and posse members to saturate valley cities and roadways known to be corridors for human smuggling.

Twenty-eight dogs died over the weekend, possibly from heatstroke, at a training facility near Cave Creek, and Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio said his office will investigate.

Twenty-eight dogs died over the weekend, possibly from heatstroke, at a training facility near Cave Creek, and Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio said his office will investigate.

Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio sent dozens of his deputies and volunteer posse members into Mesa on Monday for an “unannounced” immigration sweep through the city.

TUCSON - Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik was thrust into the spotlight to face a nation demanding answers in the aftermath of the shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. He didn't mince words.

How do we get so lucky to have not one but two Sheriffs that somehow get into the National Media for all the wrong reasons. Yes folks we have Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who has news conferences about the “birther issue,” his posse and his racist raids.

In reply to Salli Nelson, thank God for an officer of the law with the guts and backbone of Joe Arpaio. Drug dealers, rapists and car thieves would love for you liberals to get rid of him. Joe, you doing a great job and all of us Canadians love you and feel very safe wintering here. We bring a fare amount of the "green" to your state, which we know that you like.

Pinal County’s new sheriff has announced his management team.

Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio took his controversial "crime suppression" sweeps to the West Valley on Wednesday, stopping vehicles during afternoon rush hour in and around Surprise and Sun City.

Losing any local county Sheriff would be significant to regional law enforcement and would shake up the political landscape, since Arizona Sheriffs are usually the heavyweight in their respective county. The death of Cochise County Sheriff Larry Dever is far more significant, since he was a leader among elected Sheriffs and clearly helped shape a more reasonable conversation on border security.

Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik is deputizing two U.S. Border Patrol officers without having to get either the permission of county supervisors or a state law that says he can ignore them.

The office of county sheriff in Arizona dates back to territorial days when the sheriff was the only law. When Arizona became a state 100 years ago the office of sheriff was spelled out in the state Constitution.