Meet Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, one tough hombre with a no crap attitude. 24Seven recently had the pleasure of meeting Arpaio, considered by many to be the toughest sheriff in the U.S. Although not an overly popular man to some folks, especially the A.C.L.U and civil libertarians the world over, he is currently serving his fourth term as Sheriff for the largest county in the United States-proving that many do like his law and order style. Arpaio is not the least bit concerned about other people think, itâs the 3-? million people of Maricopa County, which clearly support him and his tough stance with criminals and crime. Arpaio made it clear that this is not a popularity contest with the inmates, "it is my job to deal with these individuals as I see fit," and he does. The Sheriff also went on to say, "everything I do, I do for a reason," and it doesnât sit too well with many left leaning individuals, which does not concern him in the least. What makes Arpaio the toughest Sheriff in the states? Well to begin with, his view of his inmates. He does not want them to enjoy anything about their stay in his facilities. We had a chance to tour "Tent City" and it was clear that Arpaio had set some very tough rules and expectations for the inmates. From the green bologna sandwiches, to the pink underclothes, bedding and footwear that adorn their bodies and the pink sheets they sleep on at night, Arpaio does it for a reason. He was very articulate in explaining why he does what he does. Although accused by some as trying to embarrass his inmates, Arpaio made it clear that this is not the case. He was losing lots of money when inmates would steal the clothing that they were issued. Well what an easy way to deal with it, change the color to pink and bang, no more theft of clothing. He also stopped television in his facilities until the courts ruled that the inmates can are entitled to it, "fine then, they now have the Disney Channel and the Weather Channel so they can see how hot it is going to be while out working on the chain gangs-or they can see how cold it is up north and they can move to Canada." Another innovative and tough program instituted by the sheriff was his chain gangs. Although he started with male only chain gangs, he has now expanded that program to make him an equal opportunity employer by having the first female chain gang. Arpaio has gone even further now that he has started a young offenders chain gang. Again, everything is for a reason. The sheriff lives the old adage, "If you donât want to do the timeâ¦donât do the crime" which coincidentally can be seen in his office behind his desk. Arpaio is one tough sheriff with a hard lined approach in dealing with his inmates. But who can argue with a man who has a recidivism rate of about 16% at Tent City vs. the national average of 85%. Well I guess left leaning liberals can and always will argue against this kind of treatment of inmates, simply because they can. As for the rest of us, keep up the great work Sheriff; it is a breath of fresh air to see inmates treated like inmates. They are treated fairly and firmly with limited rights as they sacrificed their rights when they violated the rights of their victims. So the next time that you talk to somebody about the unfair treatment of inmates, just ask them about the victim and their rights. We need more "Sheriff Joes" in this country for a little law and order -western style. http://www.policeone.com/writers/columnists/24Seven/articles/113956/
TruthOrFiction.com The Pink-Clad Prisoners Of Sheriff Joe Arpaio in Arizona-Truth! Summary of the eRumor The email describes prison conditions in Arizona's Maricopa tent jail and quotes the sheriff as telling complaining inmates that the soldiers in Iraq are facing similar conditions, living in tents in hot weather, and that they didn't commit any crimes. The Truth Sheriff Joe Arpaio is a colorful and controversial character who has instituted severe policies at Phonex's Maricopa County Jail since taking office in 1993. According to his bio on the Maricopa County Web site, he enjoys being known as "America's toughest sheriff." He got nationwide attention when he established the Maricopa County tent city for inmates. More than 2,000 prisoners live without smoking, coffee, pornographic magazines, movies and unrestricted television in all jails. The eRumor says the meals cost less than 40 cents but the cost figure is actually less than 20 cents. Arpaio has also instituted what he calls "Hard Knocks High", the only accredited high school in an American jail. That, along with an anti-drug program, says Arpaio, has resulted in a high percentage of his inmates leaving jail without their addictions and few of them returning. This particular eRumor borrows from an Associated Press article from July, 2003 that focused on the prisoner's experiences during a heat wave and adds other details that have become well-known about Sheriff Arpaio and the jail. A real example of the eRumor as it has appeared on the Internet: Sheriff Joe Arpaio (in Arizona) is doing it RIGHT!! He has jail meals down to 40 cents a serving and charges the inmates for them. He stopped smoking and porno magazines in the jails. Took away their weights. Cut off all but "G" movies. He started chain gangs so the inmates could do free work on county and city projects. Then he started chain gangs for women so he wouldn't get sued for discrimination. He took away cable TV until he found out there was a federal court order that required cable TV for jails. So he hooked up the cable TV again but only let in the Disney channel and the weather channel. When asked why the weather channel he replied, so they will know how hot it's gonna be while they are working on my chain gangs. He cut off coffee since it has zero nutritional value. When the inmates complained, he told them.....this is a good one......"This isn't the Ritz/Carlton. If you don't like it, don't come back." He bought Newt Gingrich's lecture series on videotape that he pipes into the jails. When asked by a reporter if he had any lecture series by a Democrat, he replied that a democratic lecture series might explain why a lot of the inmates were in his jails in the first place. You have to love this guy!! More on the AZ Sheriff: With temperatures being even hotter than usual in Phoenix (116 degrees just set a new record), the Associated Press reports: About 2,000 inmates living in a barbed-wire-surrounded tent encampment at the Maricopa County Jail have been given permission to strip down to their government-issued pink boxer shorts. On Wednesday, hundreds of men wearing boxers were either curled up on their bunk beds or chatted in the tents, which reached 138 degrees inside the week before. Many were also swathed in wet, pink towels as sweat collected on their chests and dripped down to their pink socks. "It feels like we are in a furnace," said James Zanzot, an inmate who has lived in the tents for 1 1/2 years. "It's inhumane." Joe Arpaio, the tough-guy sheriff who created the tent city and long ago started making his prisoners wear pink, and eat bologna sandwiches, is not one bit sympathetic He said Wednesday that he told all of the inmates: "It's 120 degrees in Iraq and our soldiers are living in tents too, and they have to wear full battle gear, but they didn't commit any crimes... so shut your damned mouths."
It is appropriate punishment for those convicted criminals who cased harm to other people or their property. But, do ALL of these prisoners really have "victims"? How many are political prisoners, guilty only of defying (drug) prohibition? In those cases, the only <i>victims</i> here... are the prisoners themselves.
1) this article is 10 years old. 2) this is all editorial. 3) the following paragraph is complete and utter bullshit on so many levels.
1) So? 2) Listing statistics on the prisoners and their living conditions is "editorial"? 3) Prove it.
1) Because things change...the bloom is definitely off the rose in his case. 2) Truthorfiction.com.....generally to most people this would be self-evident. Perhaps not to all though. 3) ask any Maricopa Sheriffâs Dept deputy who's been on the job in the last 10 years. Good Grief. ROFL!! BTW: The guy may have been the Buford Pusser of Maricopa 14 years ago. But that has done jack squat for their crime rate since. Look it up.
1) "Bloom is off the rose"? Either the conditions are the same or they are not. Time is not relevant. By your reasoning the Pyramids should not be considered a wonder of the world because they are so old. 2) "Self-evident"? Either Arpaio did what the article stated or he did not. Please prove that the statistics and conditions as listed in the article are false. 3) Please quote "any Maricopa Sheriff's Deputy who's been on the job in the last 10 years."
Ugh...I have have better things to do. Things to ask yourself... 1) Why has the crime rate in Maricopo gone up in the last 14 yrs. 2) Why have drug arrests trebled in the 14 years.
Yes, better things to do than justify your statements. Links, please, if you can take the time. Furthermore, how can you link a rise in crime to the way Arpaio treats his inmates? Seems to me that crime and drug arrests rise when, well, more people are committing crimes and using drugs. Are you saying Arpaio's treatment of the inmates makes them burn to commit more crimes and use drugs when they are released?!?