The change in leadership at Tucson Police that took effect in March is notable more for continuity than for upheaval. Monica Prieto is a Tucson native who went to school and built her career here, and she is stepping into a department that has been stabilizing after the upheavals of 2020 — when staffing fell, homicides rose and visible drug addiction grew more pronounced on the streets. The shift continues the department’s move toward evidence-based strategies that began under Chris Magnus and were developed further under Kasmar.
Prieto has instituted regular crime-reduction meetings at the Miracle Mile station that bring about 30 senior officers together to review recent incidents, identify trends and coordinate responses. The meetings are structured to produce follow-up: commanders report what they tried in the past month, what they plan next, and then come back the following month with results. That routine sharing of information is meant to foster creative, cross-division solutions and to keep efforts accountable.
Those discussions are supported by an internal research-and-analysis capability Prieto describes as a strong analytical unit. The department is leaning more on data, analytics and predictive tools to deploy officers more efficiently and to focus enforcement where it will have the most impact, rather than relying solely on intuition or ad hoc patrol patterns.
Speaking as someone who grew up in the city, Prieto says Tucson faces the same types of challenges many major U.S. cities confront, but notes some progress: Part 1 violent crime (murder, manslaughter, rape, robbery and aggravated assault) has fallen roughly 18% over the last five years. She emphasizes the department’s willingness to learn from chiefs in other cities and to accept outside feedback, acknowledging there are no simple, one-size-fits-all answers.
On staffing, Prieto reports about 814 sworn officers on the books, a figure that includes roughly 30 officers currently in training; patrol strength is about 325, and there are around 103 community service officers who are not sworn. The department’s high-water mark was more than 1,100 officers in 2008; Prieto’s immediate target is to get above 900 next year, with plans to add about 50 officers supported by a COPS grant. Retention, she says, will depend on investing in workforce development — better training, career development and making employees feel valued.
Tackling traffic safety has been a priority after enforcement dipped following COVID. A dedicated traffic lieutenant has launched a three-pronged plan that uses problem-oriented precision policing: identify high-risk corridors and intersections with data, concentrate officers in those hot spots, and auto-dispatch patrol for focused 30-minute traffic details. That push began March 1 and has already produced an uptick in enforcement activity — more written warnings and increased citations. Prieto also acknowledges concerns about underreported crime, particularly in the context of drug-related impacts, and says the department wants better data to understand the true scope. Looking ahead, her vision blends continued data-driven policing with responsible technology use: Tucson has used line-of-sight drones since 2019, and leadership has endorsed a pilot to place aerial emergency-response drones around the city to provide near-instant situational awareness to officers via the Community Safety and Response Center.
