Interesting article. I found it on a UK website, of all places. The thing I like about Arpaio is that he's not just tough - but he's tough with a purpose. Low recividism rates mean fewer inmates are repeat offenders, and that's good for the county and the inmates alike. In a society that's preoccupied with punishment, I'd like to think there are ways to actually help rehabilitate some people.


Why they vote for America's Toughest Lawman
By Sheriff Joe Arpaio

My name is Joe Arpaio, the elected Sheriff of the sixth largest county in America. Bigger than the state of New Jersey, Maricopa County covers nearly 9,200 square miles, including the state capital, Phoenix, and is home to 3.8 million citizens.

I have been in law enforcement for more than 47 years now, working all round the world for the US Drug Enforcement Agency. However, nothing can compare with being an elected sheriff. In America, a sheriff is a county's chief law enforcement official.

Joe Arpaio enjoys high approval ratings of 75-85 per cent
As such, I report directly and only to the citizens who I serve. Because I am elected, I have the freedom to represent the will of the people without the constraints of bureaucracy and politics. As you may already know, the tradition has its roots in your fine country – in fact, it is the oldest office in common law, dating back to the 1300s, when citizens relied on sheriffs as representatives of the King.

As the concept moved to the United States, Thomas Jefferson noted: “The office of the sheriff is the most important of all the executive offices in the country.” Once elected – as I was in 1992 - approval by his constituents gives a sheriff the ability to apply his or her own distinct philosophy about right and wrong.

I now oversee more than 4,000 employees, 3,000 volunteer posse members and 10,000 prison inmates, and my approval ratings have constantly been around 75-85 per cent - giving me the confidence to establish innovative programmes to benefit the community, inmates, and their families. My philosophy is to be tough on crime and those who commit crime.

A person who commits a crime should be held accountable and face the consequences of their actions. In direct terms, they should receive just punishment for their lack of responsibility and discipline. Specifically, in the county jails I manage, inmates should never live better than those in free society.

Therefore, I maintain an austere system with no frills, and have implemented programmes to curtail recidivism. These include lessons specifically designed to develop, educate, train, and increase the self-esteem of the men and women who have entered the criminal justice system as a result of abuse, whether physical, emotional or chemical, in the form of drugs.

Some of the programmes that focus on women inmates include the female chain gang, Animal Safe Hospice, a shelter for abused pets run and maintained by female inmates, and Girls Scouts Beyond Bars, a partnership between the sheriff's office and the Arizona Cactus-Pine Girl Scout Council, bringing incarcerated mothers and their young daughters together, which we were the first jail in the country to implement.

We also have a “Read to Me Mommy” literacy programme, Better Parenting Skills classes, and other programmes to break the cycle of criminal behavior and help prostitutes overcome their destructive lifestyle choices.

I also have inmates who volunteer for chain gang duty. Men and women serve on chain gangs, performing community service by cleaning roadways and parks. Keeping our communities clean is a worthwhile task for chain gangs and work details to perform, and where there is an opportunity to pitch in with this free labour, we do it.

In terms of my enforcement authority, I have dedicated a unit of deputies and resources to round up and hunt down “Dead Beat Parents” – those with outstanding warrants for failure to pay child support. I mobilise my volunteer posse to patrol the major shopping areas during the holiday season, to keep shoppers safe from thugs.

I have a specialised unit of deputies to fight the surge of illegal immigrants coming into this county, and have put hundreds in jail for breaking the law by illegally entering the United States. I also routinely conduct operations aimed at under-age tobacco and alcohol sales, and have specialised deputies who investigate animal neglect and cruelty cases and take the offenders to jail.

I am always seeking ways to use my elected position to help all members of this community - young and old, rich and poor, two-legged and four-. As a result of all this, I am often referred to as “The Toughest Sheriff in America”. That’s fine, but I like to think of myself and my employees as some of the most forward-thinking law enforcement professionals in the industry.

We do a lot of good things here in Maricopa County, and many of them are cutting-edge. And while I do enjoy a high approval rating from our citizens, being free to think and act “outside of the box”, which being elected allows me to do, can sometimes draw criticism. That’s OK. After 15 years as Sheriff, and with several more years ahead of me, I would rather be criticised for doing what I think is right for this community than play politics by simply playing it safe.

*Joe Arpaio is the elected sheriff of Maricopa County, Arizona

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Calling an illegal alien an "undocumented worker" is like calling a heroin dealer an "undocumented pharmacist."

They should make a movie about that guy. Oooops can't have positive role model in a hollywood film.

nice
always good to see the right man for the right job.

There's a lot of people in the area that hate him, and not just criminals, though. There's been some scandal about his teams breaking into houses to serve search warrants on the wrong house. He's apparently got a tank (some kind of SWAT APC, I assume), and has driven over and destroyed someone's car - by accident or mistake. And a number of other things that never make it much past the local news.

The impression I got from reading some comments about him on Fark were he has some good ideas, but isn't very good about actually running things.

I doubt he's the shining blue knight or a power mad keystone cop. The truth is probably somewhere in the middle.

quote Originally posted by Formula88: The truth is probably somewhere in the middle.

Yup.
He is by no means the "perfection" some make him out to be.
Nor the ego-maniac others portray him as.
But, at least he's trying.
I give him that.

Good head you got there!
I'd keep it, if I were you.

quote Originally posted by Boondawg: Yup. He is by no means the "perfection" some make him out to be. Nor the ego-maniac others portray him as. But, at least he's trying. I give him that. Good head you got there! I'd keep it, if I were you.

Apparently, he's doing the job he was elected to do. I personally would like to see more Sheriffs like him. No one is perfect, if you dig deep enough, you'll find fault with all of us. But, is anyone doing their job as well as he is? Maybe but, do they have the successful results he has attained? There's something to it, it apparently works.


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Ron

It's the Soldier, not the reporter
Who has given us the freedom of the press.
It's the Soldier, not the poet,
Who has given us the freedom of speech.
It's the Soldier, not the politicians
That ensures our right to Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.
It's the Soldier who salutes the flag,
Who serves beneath the flag,
And whose coffin is draped by the flag.

[This message has been edited by blackrams (edited 12-13-2007).]

quote Originally posted by Formula88: There's a lot of people in the area that hate him, and not just criminals, though. There's been some scandal about his teams breaking into houses to serve search warrants on the wrong house. He's apparently got a tank (some kind of SWAT APC, I assume), and has driven over and destroyed someone's car - by accident or mistake. And a number of other things that never make it much past the local news. The impression I got from reading some comments about him on Fark were he has some good ideas, but isn't very good about actually running things. I doubt he's the shining blue knight or a power mad keystone cop. The truth is probably somewhere in the middle.

The tank rolling over the car came as deputies were serving a warrant looking for illegal weapons. During that bungle, they burned the house down, killed a dog, and ran their tank into someone's car. No illegal weapons were found in the ruins of the house.
http://www.phoenixnewtimes....g-day-afternoon/full

Problem is, Joe's got some good (even great) ideas, but he's been known to take shortcuts with freedom and law when it suits his purpose. In his view, trampling a few civil liberties is OK if it means he can catch a few more criminals. And he's an unabashed media whore. If he goes more than a few weeks without getting time on the news broadcasts, he'll come up with another stunt.

If he had a bit more common sense, a lot more respect for the concept of "innocent until proven guilty", and a lot less of a hard-on for airtime, he'd probably be a role-model for law enforcement everywhere.

https://www.fiero.nl/forum/A...29-1-033534.html#p11