Inside America's toughest jail (Brit paper says Sheriff Joe Arpaio's ideas would be great for U.K.)

The Sun (U.K.) ^ | April 28, 2007 | HARRY MACADAM

[Stoat]

Inside America's toughest jail

 

 
Grim ... Tent City in Arizona
Pictures: MARK PETERMAN

 

From HARRY MACADAM
in Arizona
April 28, 2007
 
 

 

 

 

 
HIGH above the Arizona desert, a pink neon sign flashes the word “vacancy” from a watch tower manned by armed guards.

 

Surrounded by 25ft barbed wire fences, this is the welcome offered by America’s toughest jail — Tent City in Phoenix.

Inside, nearly 1,000 prisoners live in army surplus tents, baking in temperatures of 122°F (50°C) in summer and freezing during winter.

No matter how many criminals are locked up here, the vacancy sign is never turned off.

Instead, if prisoner numbers increase, jail supremo Sheriff Joe Arpaio simply orders extra tents. He says: “I will build tents to house 100,000 people before I ever let anybody out of jail early. If I have to, I will put up tents from here to Mexico.”

 

Tough ... Sheriff Arpaio and the warnings that
show criminals they can expect no mercy
 

 

The contrast to Britain’s creaking and overflowing jail system, run by Home Office pen-pushers who insist that it takes years to create new jail places, could not be sharper.

Home Secretary John Reid blew £23million temporarily housing prisoners in police cells after jails overflowed last October.

Yet Tent City — part of Estrella Jail on the outskirts of the city of Phoenix — took just six months to build next to a stinking rubbish tip.

The total cost to Arizona taxpayers was just £55,000 — compared to the typical £20million price tag for a modern British jail.

Lags face working on a chain gang as punishment if they are caught enjoying any of the luxuries pampered British cons take for granted — such as coffee, cigarettes and porn. There is no heating or air conditioning in the tents and inmates live on a vile diet of rotting food past its sell-by date donated for free to save taxpayers’ money.

Last Christmas Day just 2p per person was spent on lunch — less than the cost of rations for the guard dogs which patrol the compound with shotgun-toting guards.

This brutal regime is the brainchild of Arpaio, credited with being America’s toughest lawman. The 76-year-old elected sheriff has built his career by delivering on his pledge to voters to get tough on crime.

He says: “Today, I report directly to 3.8million people who vote for a sheriff.

 

Pride ... members of sheriff's posse
wear T-shirts in praise of their chief
 

 

“I don’t have to report to anybody else like a bureaucrat to a boss.

“If I want something done — like building Tent City — I can do it quick.

“When I want to put prisoners on a chain gang, it takes me 24 hours to do it.

“No appointed bureaucrat would ever set up a chain gang. They wouldn’t have the guts to take these sort of decisions.”

Arpaio’s popularity is underlined by a 3,000-strong “posse” of public volunteers who help to police his patch — and proudly wear “Toughest Sheriff in America” T-shirts.

Last year, the no-nonsense sheriff was left appalled by a tour of London’s Wormwood Scrubs prison during a trip to Britain.

He recalls: “It was like a hotel compared to my jails. You couldn’t see because there was so much cigarette smoke. There was a TV in each cell. They had their freedom, good food.”

That experience has prompted Arpaio to argue that Britain MUST rebalance its system of law and order in favour of victims.

 

Prisoner's attire ... Sun man Harry kitted in
striped suit ready for chain gang work
 

 

Later this week, telly viewers will witness the impact on ten British bad lads who had a stint inside Arpaio’s Tent City.

The unique social experiment is being captured on film for a new series on Bravo TV — offering a glimpse into how Arpaio’s tough regime could work in the UK. Arpaio explains: “It was risky to allow these British lads into my jail but I did it to help England. Two of them went home during the filming. That was pathetic.

“But a lot of the inmates learned from the experience. I have even received a letter from one of the Brits saying he would now like to come out to Phoenix to work here as a prison officer.”

Among the Brits was maintenance worker Dan Cadwell, 27, who went off the rails following years of heavy boozing.

He says: “It was one of the hardest things I have ever done in my life. But by the end I felt good. It was like a detox — off the drink and off the dope.

“My experience in Tent City was a wake-up call. It made me realise how easy crime is in Britain.

“We should try some of the ideas I saw in Arizona in our jail system. My stay there really made me think. This could have a big impact on my mates who are always in and out of jail.” To reinforce his powerful message, Arpaio invited The Sun to serve time in Tent City.

The experience laid bare a regime devoid of the cocky bravado exhibited by British crooks who style themselves as amateur experts in exploiting human rights law.

Before being driven to the jail, I endured a 40-minute ordeal of cavity searches, fingerprinting, DNA sampling and answering questions in detail. Then I was issued with a striped uniform.

A few hours later I was lying on a bunk in a tent. Close by, hordes of tattooed inmates hurled abuse at me in a grim welcome they give to new prisoners.

A SWAT squad carried out an inch-by-inch search of my sleeping area and began by ripping apart my bunk.

Meanwhile, a guard wearing rubber gloves spreadeagled me against a fence while doing a body search for drugs.

 

Chain gang ... Sun man Harry at
work with the prisoners
 

 

At 5.30am I was woken and told I’d be in a chain gang, shackled with leg irons to three other prisoners. It’s a painful experience. A jail bus then took us to the remote White Tanks Cemetery where our task was to lower corpses — mainly of tramps and drug addicts — into graves.

All the Maricopa County prisoners I spoke to said they hated the regime — and every one seemed determined never to pick up a return ticket.

Sheriff Arpaio is convinced his methods offer society a powerful deterrent — and he backed The Sun’s front page attack on “brainless” John Reid earlier this year.

He says: “Who knows how many crimes I have prevented because people are frightened of spending time in my jails?”

And he adds: “Britain is a great country. But why can’t the Home Secretary just build more jails. Why doesn’t he get tents like me?

“It only takes 60 days to build a prefabricated prison — and how can you put a price on public safety?”

h.macadam@the-sun.co.uk

• Brits Behind Bars: America’s Toughest Jail is on the Bravo TV channel on Thursdays at 10pm.

[Stoat]

The Sun Online - Sun Says Prison camp

Prison camp

April 28, 2007
 
 

 

BRITAIN’S answer to overcrowded prisons is to promise 8,000 new jail places — by 2012 and at a cost of £1billion.

 

In the old Wild West of the Arizona desert they have a different solution: put up more tents.

As today’s Sun report reveals, tough-guy Sheriff Joe Arpaio has 1,000 prisoners under army-surplus canvas in a no-nonsense jail that cost £50,000 to erect.

And he has tough punishments for any convict caught with items that are a staple in British cells — coffee, cigarettes and porn.

Break the rules and you’ll get a spell on the chain gang wearing a striped uniform and pink underwear.

And to save taxpayers’ cash the food is past its sell-by date and Christmas dinners costs 2p each — less than is spent on the guard dogs.

Sheriff Arpaio is a hero to the decent people who keep re-electing him and who regularly give him approval ratings of over 80 per cent.

Battered on all sides by the Health and Safety Gestapo and PC pen-pushers, it’s not a popularity level Home Secretary John Reid is ever in danger of reaching.

[Stoat]

 

Maricopa County Sheriff's Office

[TLI]

Our concealed carry laws would work wonders for the UK as well.

[SandRat]

Sheriff Joe would love being called the “High Lord Sheriff.”

[Stoat]

Our concealed carry laws would work wonders for the UK as well.
 

Agreed!  Placing people in charge of their own destiny has a wonderful way of creating a polite society.

[Stoat]

Sheriff Joe would love being called the “High Lord Sheriff.”

LMAO!

And I'll bet he would love reorganizing Great Britain's prison system......and the British taxpayers would love him for saving them BILLIONS of pounds and helping to make them safe once again.

[ErnBatavia]

I flew over to Phoenix for a daytrip on business right before 9/11. I was visiting a seafood processing plant in an industrial area just off of downtown when I saw the two most huge bull dyke guards and a female chain gang street sweeping crew.

I ran into the office to grab my digi-cam out of my briefcase to get a shot of this, but Liz the office lady told me the "screws" would most definitely be unappreciative.....so I didn't.

Just damn.

[Jeff Chandler]

Correction:

inmates live on a vile diet of rotting food past its sell-by date

The food is neither vile nor rotting. The sell-by date is not the eat-by date.

[Mr. Mojo]

“Who knows how many crimes I have prevented because people are frightened of spending time in my jails?” - Sheriff Joe

The bottom line.

[Stoat]

Correction:

inmates live on a vile diet of rotting food past its sell-by date

The food is neither vile nor rotting. The sell-by date is not the eat-by date.

Agreed, I noticed that also.  Although the Sun frequently has some great stories, they are occasionally guilty of engaging in the time-honored tabloid tradition of hyperbole   :-)

Correction:

inmates live on a vile diet of rotting food past its sell-by date

The food is neither vile nor rotting. The sell-by date is not the eat-by date.

[Jeff Chandler]

I also heard that chain gang detail is a reward for good behavior, allowing the inmates to get out and around a bit.

[Stoat]

“Who knows how many crimes I have prevented because people are frightened of spending time in my jails?” - Sheriff Joe

The bottom line.
 

And hopefully a bottom line that will not be overlooked by readers in the UK.  They are long overdue of some relief from their crime and prison problems.....Sheriff Arpaio's solutions would be like a breath of fresh air for all concerned, if you'll pardon the pun   :-)

“Who knows how many crimes I have prevented because people are frightened of spending time in my jails?” - Sheriff Joe

The bottom line.
 

[Mr. Mojo]

And hopefully a bottom line that will not be overlooked by readers in the UK.

Or the U.S., for that matter. I'd like to see Arpaio's system adopted nationwide.

[Stoat]

Or the U.S., for that matter. I'd like to see Arpaio's system adopted nationwide.

That would be tremendous!  I wonder how he has managed to keep the ACLU at bay?  I thought that it was their firmly held contention that prisoners all had a 'right' to porn, TV, smoking, etc.

[Stoat]

I also heard that chain gang detail is a reward for good behavior, allowing the inmates to get out and around a bit.

That sounds familiar to me also.  Perhaps another error, or simply something that the reporter didn't fully understand because his 'inside tour' didn't last long enough?

[jakewashere]

If you think the Sun is being hyperbolic, you should hear what our local wretched lefty rag (the NEW TIMES) says about Arpaio every time he’s in the news. They’ve all but called him a Nazi.

[Stoat]

If you think the Sun is being hyperbolic, you should hear what our local wretched lefty rag (the NEW TIMES) says about Arpaio every time he’s in the news. They’ve all but called him a Nazi.

I'm sorry to hear that, but according to the Sun Says blurb, Sheriff Joe's approval rates typically exceed 80%.  This suggests to me that the New Times has poorer circulation than a dead tree, and that the people of Arizona are far smarter and better informed than the New Times' staff.

The New Times sounds like the 'crazy Aunt who lives in the attic' that makes a lot of noise but is mainly overlooked by the saner folks in the vicinity    :-)

[Mr. Mojo]

I wonder how he has managed to keep the ACLU at bay?

Just dug up a Lou Dobbs interview with Joe Arpaio from Oct. of '05:

ARPAIO: "Well, I don't care what they [the ACLU] say. We're legal. I do things legally. They don't like it, that's tough. In fact, my polls go up every time they blast me. So they can blast me every night."

(Full interview about 3/4 of the way down the page).

Googling "ACLU, Arpaio" brought of several links. They've been been after him for a long time. .....unsuccesfully.

[Mr. Mojo]

Let’s try that again: Googling “ACLU, Arpaio” brought up several links; they’ve been after him a long time. .....unsuccessfully.

[buccaneer81]

The food is neither vile nor rotting. The sell-by date is not the eat-by date.

It may not kill anything but your appetite. Having been a guest of the Franklin County (Ohio) jail several years ago, I can tell you that the bologna was consistently green.

[Clint Williams]

Cool. Couple this guy with Nifong and you’ve got a duo I can buy into.

[Stoat]

Googling "ACLU, Arpaio" brought up several links. They've been been after him for a long time. .....unsuccesfully.
 

THANK YOU very much for your research!  It's sincerely appreciated.

I'm getting the sense that the main reasons why Sheriff Arpaio's methods are not implemented elsewhere are:

• Existing State statutes prevent law enforcement agencies from adopting similar plans
• Other elected (or appointed) law enforcement officials have buckled under the political pressure from elsewhere in their States or from the ACLU.

Sound reasonable to you?

[Nebr FAL owner]

Probably by pointing out that the conditions endured by the inmates are not that different than what this nations service members are enduring in the litter box of Iraq & that porn is detrimental to the maintenance of good order in the jail as it is fought over ,coffee has zero nutritional value same for tobacco .

The food is not rotting just past its freshest sell by date & is still therefore fit to eat.

Inmates are not physically abused are rewarded with simple work details outside the jail & are connected by leg irons to three other prisoners to prevent attempted escape & the required use of deadly force to keep said inmate in custody as is required by law.

[Mr. Mojo]

I was hoping you wouldn't italicize my butchered sentence ;)

Yeah, the reasons you stated sound about right. ...especially the second one. It takes LEOs of unusual fortitude not to give a rip about the pressure applied by the ACLU and other leftist pressure groups, and unfortunately there just aren't many Sheriff Joe types around anymore.

[CGTRWK]

I don’t think much of Joe Arpaio.

Joe is a showman who has achieved popularity riding the public sentiment that the justice system in general isn’t harsh enough on criminals, while his tent city demonstrably is - as he would be happy to show anyone who will look.

Where it breaks down is that his tent city isn’t a prison for dangerous felons and repeat offenders, it’s a jail with an inmate population that’s either been convicted of misdemeanors or else is awaiting trial and not yet convicted of anything. These aren’t the people I have in mind when I think criminals aren’t punished harshly enough.

With lawmakers continuously working to make everything from using plastic shopping bags to serving trans fats to eating a ham sandwich around Muslims illegal, you or I could end up in a jail a lot more easily than most people would like to believe. When that happens, I’d prefer the place be run in a civilized fashion with as few sadistic showmen around as possible.

[ops33]

Very true. Also, I think a tough prison regime is, in the long run, better for the prisoners as well. I wonder how many graduates of Sherrif Arpaio’s jail never return to crime?

[jabbermog]

You’re so right- a few years in chokey means that induviduals cannot commit more crimes during their time inside.
One of my mates is a copper and most of them are as frustrated as the public when, after arresting them and sending the file to the CPS (like your DA),some stupid old liberal lefty judge lets them go because their parents split up when they were 4 yrs old.
Thanks to this namby pamby approach I felt safer on the Streets of New York at night than Nottingham or Sheffield,when I was over there a couple of years ago.
Tell your local Congressman that you would like to see that Sherriff’s regime in you neighbourhood because you don’t want it to end up like a British city.

[ops33]

Thirty years I ago I had the pleasure of being stationed in the UK for 3 1/2 years. I enjoyed every minute but there were two things I noticed about the UK from the start. First, was how civil everyone was; very well mannered and polite. The other was how safe I felt in the country. If what you say is true a lot has changed in the past 3 decades.

[Zack Nguyen]

There is no heating or air conditioning in the tents and inmates live on a vile diet of rotting food past its sell-by date donated for free to save taxpayers’ money.

This cannot possibly be accurate. Rotting food?

[jakewashere]

“I’m sorry to hear that, but according to the Sun Says blurb, Sheriff Joe’s approval rates typically exceed 80%. This suggests to me that the New Times has poorer circulation than a dead tree, and that the people of Arizona are far smarter and better informed than the New Times’ staff.

“The New Times sounds like the ‘crazy Aunt who lives in the attic’ that makes a lot of noise but is mainly overlooked by the saner folks in the vicinity :-)”

From what I can tell, the NEW TIMES has pretty massive circulation, actually. That 80% comes from the kind of people who are willing to participate in polls in the first place; from what I know of the typical New Times reader, their response to a phone call asking whether they’d like to answer a few survey questions is to say “No, thanks” and hang up. And of course, those people don’t vote, either, since they’re of the skeptical type who figure the game is rigged anyway - so Joe always makes it back into office by a massive margin.

[ArmyTeach]

When we retire (soon), I think I’d respectfully like to request Sheriff Arpaio’s permission to settle in Maricopa County. I've taught soldiers - maybe I could volunteer.
Been watching him for years - he’s the man.

[Stoat]

When we retire (soon), I think I’d respectfully like to request Sheriff Arpaio’s permission to settle in Maricopa County. I've taught soldiers - maybe I could volunteer.
Been watching him for years - he’s the man.
 

I'm guessing that Sheriff Arpaio would be delighted to have you on board and the citizens of the great State of Arizona would be Blessed to have you doing such vital work there.

Full steam ahead   :-)

[Stoat]

There is no heating or air conditioning in the tents and inmates live on a vile diet of rotting food past its sell-by date donated for free to save taxpayers’ money.

This cannot possibly be accurate. Rotting food?

We've talked about this earlier on in the thread and I think that most of us have come to the conclusion that this is a case of The Sun being just a tad hyperbolic, as is their occasional custom.

The food is so inexpensive because it's past it's "sell by" date, but that doesn't mean that it's unhealthy or 'rotting'.. The young reporter that wrote this story is accustomed to the swanky nightclubs of London, and so bologna sandwiches that are just beyond the sell-by date are probably far beyond anything he's experienced, and so he vents in a bit of an 'over the top' fashion in the story.

Sheriff Arpaio wouldn't feed inmates rotting food that would make them sick....he is a good man who follows the law and that would be clear abuse and mistreatment of the prisoners.

Tabloid papers tend to get a bit emotional sometimes   :-)

There is no heating or air conditioning in the tents and inmates live on a vile diet of rotting food past its sell-by date donated for free to save taxpayers’ money.

This cannot possibly be accurate. Rotting food?

[jabbermog]

Perhaps its just me but good manners seem to have gone out of the window (a lot of it may be bad parenting).
I should stress that I was talking about our cities. I am fortunate enough to live in a village where there aren’t these problems.
To make a comparison Brownsville area of NYC is probably like a zoo but somewhere like Poughkeepsie is a nice community.

[Zack Nguyen]

You are probably right.

[nofrills]

So what if it’s ‘rotting’ and ‘vile’. It’s a prison, not a hotel. No frills, no privilages, no porn, no fancy diets. Way to go Sheriff!

[Stoat]

So what if it’s ‘rotting’ and ‘vile’. It’s a prison, not a hotel. No frills, no privilages, no porn, no fancy diets. Way to go Sheriff!

Although I sincerely doubt that the food is actually 'rotting' as stated in the article (post # 33 here) I agree of course.  Such basic principles as the notion of prison being for punishment and as being a place to remind criminals that they don't want to commit crimes both appear to have been forgotten, or if not forgotten they have been expunged from the lexicon by the ACLU here in the USA and other groups like them.

(your screen name certainly supports Sheriff Arpaio's vision as well!  Bravo!)

[nofrills]

Thank you Stoat! I live in Europe, and someone with the vision of Sheriff Joe is badly needed here. I think private prisons are only being discussed here at the moment, but prisoners have a very pampered existence at the moment. I assume Sheriff J’s establishments are private?

[supremedoctrine]

Yeah, that struck me too...”a vile diet of rotting food...” that would obviously be illegal....and that kind of overdramatization coming from the BRITS, is no accident,since that’s they way they generally think of their own fresh food.

[supremedoctrine]

Yeah, that struck me too...”a vile diet of rotting food...” that would obviously be illegal....and that kind of overdramatization coming from the BRITS, is no accident,since that’s they way they generally think of their own fresh food.

[Stoat]

Thank you Stoat!

You're welcome  :-)

I live in Europe, and someone with the vision of Sheriff Joe is badly needed here.

Agreed.  I have great concerns for the law-abiding people of Europe and of their safety from crime.

I think private prisons are only being discussed here at the moment, but prisoners have a very pampered existence at the moment. I assume Sheriff J’s establishments are private?

No, the facilities run by Sheriff Arpaio are part of the State of Arizona's penal system, it's not a private entity.  It's taxpayer-funded, and the taxpayers love him.  :-)    Here is his web page, which tells a little bit more about him as well as his program:

Maricopa County Sheriff's Office

 

[Stoat]

By the way, welcome to Free Republic :-)

[nofrills]

Thanks. Great to be here - feel right at home already. Thanks for the info... I had just assumed it was a private prison, because I know there are a lot of them in the US. Do you think they are a good idea? Enjoyed the link. Amazing that the average price of a meal is only 15 cents! No wonder the taxpayers love him... not sure about the prisoners tho! ;-)

[Stoat]

Thanks for the info.

You're quite welcome  :-)

 I had just assumed it was a private prison, because I know there are a lot of them in the US. Do you think they are a good idea?

I am an unrepentant Capitalist (who nurtures a visceral antipathy of Socialism)  and so I will generally favor the private operation of most things.  However, Sheriff Arpaio demonstrates that in this specific matter, what is most important is the management philosophy of the enterprise.  He's doing the job far more efficiently than any private prison has managed managed to that I've heard of, but I suppose that doesn't mean that a private prison couldn't do things as well as he does.....we just have yet to see it.  Actually, in a matter such as this, it might be easier for it to be accomplished under the umbrella of a Government entity because in Arizona and in many (or all? ) other US states a Sheriff is an elected position, and so would probably be more difficult for detractors to remove than a private company, who could conceivably be quickly replaced with another private company with a different management philosophy if a Government overseer were to be subjected to too much pressure.  The ACLU has been after Sheriff Arpaio for years, but he just brushes them off like a mildly irritating mosquito and laughs in their faces.....something that a private company would probably not be able to do unless they had far more Government political support than what I've seen in the prison systems so far.  The voters of Maricopa County love Sheriff Arpaio and they keep returning him to office.

 Enjoyed the link. Amazing that the average price of a meal is only 15 cents! No wonder the taxpayers love him... not sure about the prisoners tho! ;-)

Fortunately, upholding the laws of the State of Arizona and maintaining the safety of the law-abiding citizens there is of considerably greater importance to Sheriff Arpaio than the happiness of the criminals under his care. He treats them in a humanitarian way and in accordance with the law, but he makes it abundantly clear that a term spent in his jail is not intended to be equivalent to a stay in a posh resort...it's to serve as due and appropriate punishment for crimes committed.

[ccmay]

I've taught soldiers - maybe I could volunteer.

He'd be happy to have you. The Maricopa County Sheriff's Posse is one of the most active in the country. There is a mounted unit, jeep unit, EMT unit, airplane unit, mountain search & rescue unit, ham radio unit, etc. They patrol malls and sporting venues, look for fugitives and missing persons in the desert, and are called out for any kind of emergency. You can even get qualified to carry a pistol on-duty.

-ccm

[Stoat]

There is a mounted unit, jeep unit, EMT unit, airplane unit, mountain search & rescue unit, ham radio unit, etc. They patrol malls and sporting venues, look for fugitives and missing persons in the desert, and are called out for any kind of emergency. You can even get qualified to carry a pistol on-duty.

That's very interesting, thank you for the info  :-)

[sheriffjoe]

Please visit Sheriff Joe’s official Re-Election website. He appreciates your support. http://www.sheriffjoe.org

[JRandomFreeper]

Just DAMN! He's got a no-kill shelter for animals. And it's air-conditioned.

The way a man treats a dog or a cat or a horse is indicative of his morality, in my book.

/johnny

[Stoat]

LMAO :-)

Well-stated and I agree on all counts.

[RoadTest]

I agree. Somebody famous said that, too. I think it was one of our founding fathers.