It seems that the same porous-border policies that led to an increase in border jumping has also resulted in an increase in violent home invasions in the Tucson area. Why? Because of the vast quantity of illegal drugs smuggled in from Mexico, and the number of “safe houses” set up in residential neighborhoods to store the illegal goods.

Residential robberies in metro Tucson are on a record-setting pace.

Funded by the growing trafficking of Mexican marijuana, smugglers are setting up stash houses throughout the metro area. Rival drug traffickers may target those homes, looking to steal cash or pot or to recover stolen marijuana that can be sold on the street for as much as $500 a pound.

What that means, law officers said, is that more innocent people are at risk of being hurt or killed because traffickers may mistakenly break into their home.

"You have incidents when the bad guys hit the wrong house, or the target moved out a month or so ago ... that's the real danger," said Pima County sheriff's Lt. Michael G. O'Connor, head of the crimes against persons section.

Sometimes in these terrifying robberies with violence or threats of violence, also known as home invasions, the robbers hit a residence based on nothing more than a street rumor, said Eugene V. Mejia, a retired police detective sergeant who worked for TPD from 1974 to 2000.

Acting on rumors leaves plenty of opportunity for mistakes. Robbers, for example, may have the right house number but go to the wrong street.
Upping the stakes, robbers often are high on drugs during the break-ins.

How bad is the problem? While Tucson and Pima County used to get fewer than 50 such crimes reported a year 15-20 years ago, the number is now up to nearly 250. How many more go unreported by criminals who donÂ’t want police scrutiny of their activities? And we wonÂ’t get into the deaths or serious injuries that often accompany these home invasions.

Who says we donÂ’t need to secure the border?

Posted by: Greg at 02:04 PM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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1 What we need to do is arm everyone. Then eliminate punishment for killing someone who broke into your house. We'll see how many break-ins there are after several get shot and killed on the spot.

Posted by: Elliott at Mon May 9 17:37:56 2005 (oG0U1)

2 While I don't condone giving everyone a firearm, can we all see R with a pistol?? , I do agree there need to be more Laws on the books like the one just passed here in FL.

It gives people protection for protecting themself.

No longer can someone be sued for protecting themself because a relative/family member/spouse of a criminal decides to sue them for killing/wounding the bread winner.

Sorry never knew crime was considered a "Bread Winning Job".

Posted by: Scubachris at Tue May 10 02:27:17 2005 (AktpP)

3 There are lots of criminals because it IS a bread winning job; you've heard the expression that crime doesn't pay? Wrong. The proof is in the number of crimes. No doubt people will argue that crime results from dysfunctional families, poor schools, a crime-gene -- and who knows but that some of this isn't true. So what? When people go to jail in Japan, they hardly ever go back in the slammer a second time once released. The Japanese do not engage in hand slapping; more like body slamming -- so criminals get the message. American's seem to encourage criminal behavior because we tolerate it.

Posted by: Mustang at Tue May 10 03:00:45 2005 (nP7cz)

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