Joe Arpaio, “America’s Toughest Sheriff,” Comes With A Hefty Price Tag

[n2doc]

Sheriff Joe likes to talk about his cost-cutting programs. But abuses in his Arizona jails have led to hundreds of millions of dollars in legal judgments

Joe Arpaio has become one of America’s most well-known sheriffs, thanks in part to unorthodox programs like his Tent City detention facility. In an effort to tackle jail overcrowding, Arpaio came up with the novel idea to house some of his inmates in sprawling outdoor facilities. This week, he hit a new milestone: half-a-million inmates have now passed through Tent City, on the west side of Phoenix. To commemorate that fact, he put up a new McDonald’s-esque sign boasting “500,000 Served.”

When a local TV reporter recently asked Arpaio if he planned to keep Tent City open to “serve” another 500,000 inmates, the sheriff answered: “We’re gonna keep going – it saves millions of dollars.” Indeed, over the course of his six terms in office, Arpaio has cultivated the image of a guy who’s not only tough on crime but also creative when it comes to cutting expenses.

But what Arpaio doesn’t note in his stream of press releases about Tent City is that inmate abuses and misuse of funds in the jail system he oversees have cost the county nearly $200 million over the last 15 years.

more

http://www.vocativ.com/underworld/crime/joe-arpaio-americas-toughest-sheriff-comes-with-a-hefty-price-tag/

[JimDandy]

1. K n R