Karen Bune
Victimology Contributor
Officer.com
Known as
America’s Toughest Sheriff, Arizona’s Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio is no- nonsense, practical, and determined law enforcement leader. He does not placate criminals, pander to his critics, and he does not back down when threatened with inquiries, lawsuits, or tactics of intimidation by those who don’t agree with his practices or policies. Sheriff Arpaio is definitely no wimp, and he runs his department the way he sees fit. He does not allow himself to be swayed or manipulated by others who constantly find fault with his strategies and condemn him for his philosophy. Obviously, for the residents of his county, he has lasting appeal because they overwhelmingly elect him term after term.
Sheriff Arpaio is outspoken and doesn’t molly-coddle criminals. He continues to demonstrate creativity with the idea and implementation of a new television reality show on the Fox reality channel titled, “Smile, You’re Under Arrest†in which the sheriff himself stars. Offenders willingly sign up to appear on the show in which professional actors are utilized in skits that enable arrests to be made of miscreants who may have outstanding warrants, missed court dates, DWIs, drug offenses, and other violations of the law. The offenders, thinking they will be ‘stars,’ easily succumb to the lure of the telephoto lens and reveal their true level of gullibility for that desired claim to Hollywood fame.
Arpaio is also well known for having his inmates live in a tent, wear pink underwear (because the white underwear was being consistently stolen), and for having offenders work on chain gangs. Moreover, they are banned from smoking, drinking coffee, and watching television. If inmates have any money saved in their jail accounts, the sheriff requires them to pay for their own meals. His jail is no playground for fun or shenanigans, and he holds his inmates’ feet to the fire by making them accountable.
Though the Mayor of Phoenix, Phil Gordon, has requested federal investigations of the sheriff accusing him of unfairly targeting illegal immigrants with his aggressive crackdown that employs crime suppression techniques and Paco Fabian, of America’s Voice, accuses him of racial profiling, Arpaio resolutely denies he is doing anything of the sort. To the contrary, Arpaio can point to the fact that he has successfully weeded out those who are criminals and that they have been deported as a consequence of their illegal activities. “We are the only ones cracking down on the state’s human smuggling laws,†counters Sheriff Arpaio.
The sheriff seems to garner the disapproval of the mayor and others of his ilk because his crime fighting strategies and correctional methods are bold, daring and different yet they have proven to be successful. Sheriff Arpaio says what others don’t want to hear, treads down paths others fear to go, and speaks out when it is politically incorrect.
Sheriff Arpaio has the courage to do what needs to be done when necessary. In an era where, on the one hand, employers encourage their workers to be flexible and “think outside the box,†the sheriff is already one step ahead of them on that ideological road. As he moves forward at a rapid and determined rate, those same people who encourage this philosophy are presumably the ones running behind him, trying to grab his coat tails, and attempting to influence him to sing a different tune that more aptly pleases their own political self-interest. If people like Mayor Gordon of Phoenix and Paco Fabian can’t stand the heat, it’s time for them to get out of the kitchen and let the sheriff continue to do his job without their unsolicited input and unwarranted interference.
