[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 5]
[Senate]
[Page 5972]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     TRIBUTE TO CLARENCE W. DUPNIK

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to one of 
America's finest, Clarence W. Dupnik, Sheriff of Pima County, AZ, who 
celebrates 50 years of law enforcement service to his community this 
year.
  Clarence Dupnik is known as a man of action, integrity, and 
innovation. These skills have been invaluable to his 50 years of 
service to Arizona, and the Nation.
  Sheriff Dupnik began his career in law enforcement in 1958 as a 
patrol officer with the city of Tucson Police Department, TPD. He held 
various positions within the Tucson Police Department, rising to major 
in charge of field operations by the time he retired from the TPD in 
January 1977. From there, he was appointed chief deputy sheriff of Pima 
County Sheriff's Department, and later appointed Pima County Sheriff in 
1980.
  Since 1980, Clarence Dupnik has been elected to seven consecutive 
terms of office as Pima County Sheriff, a position in which he remains 
today. Clarence Dupnik's many years of service to Pima County represent 
a remarkable achievement and a great responsibility.
  During his tenure as sheriff, the population of Pima County has 
nearly doubled in size. Today it claims almost 400,000 residents, 
making it the second-highest populated county in Arizona. In addition, 
Pima County shares 123 miles of border with the nation of Mexico. These 
characteristics have brought on special challenges, which Sheriff 
Dupnik met head on, with an admirable commitment to crime reduction.
  Over the last three decades, Sheriff Dupnik has been instrumental to 
the reduction of the per capita crime rate in Pima County. He has 
fought criminal enterprises, drug trafficking organizations, and gangs. 
He also worked with former U.S. Surgeon General Richard Carmona to 
improve law enforcement capabilities by integrating special weapons and 
tactics with emergency medical assistance. Additionally, he had the 
foresight to deploy 350 new mobile data computers in all Sheriff's 
patrol vehicles--both patrol and unmarked--before most other 
departments in Arizona. Sheriff Dupnik also participated in the Joint 
Terrorism Task Force and served on the Executive Committee of the FBI.
  Using his many years of law enforcement experience and leadership 
skills, Clarence Dupnik has worked hard to improve and give back to his 
community in any way he can. He introduced Drug Abuse Resistance 
Education, DARE, and School Resource Officer programs in Pima County 
schools. In addition, Sheriff Dupnik instituted a countywide community 
policing program, created the Multi-agency Narcotic Investigations 
Unit, and established the Command Group of the Arizona Alliance 
Planning Committee. In addition, he founded and chairs a drug-
prevention group called Arizona for a Drug-Free Workplace.
  The dedication and service of Clarence Dupnik during his 50-year law 
enforcement career is truly commendable. I thank Sheriff Dupnik for his 
many years of service and wish him further success in the years to 
come. I know that these years of public service have sacrificed time 
from his family and I would like to take this moment to also thank and 
acknowledge his wife Susie and their family. With Sheriff Dupnik's 
great example in mind, I hope that we can all work together to reduce 
crime in our Nation.

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