Maricopa County's serious crime decreases, tent prison contributes to success?

Maricopa County’s serious crime reduction, tent prison has contributed? In an election year, the political achievements of the incumbents are bound to be dug up and discussed. Although Maricopa County Sheriff Arpaio...

In an election year, the political achievements of the incumbents are bound to be dug up and discussed. Although Maricopa County Sheriff Arpaio was accused of abusing his power and deliberately targeting Hispanic residents, he and his subordinates were suspected of racial discrimination. But it’s indisputable that Maricopa County’s serious crime rate has dropped 20 percent since the summer of 2008.

The U.S. Marshals Service in Arizona went from 40,000 serious crime warrants in the summer of 2008 to 31,000 last December, thanks to the close cooperation between agencies. The state has 22 law enforcement agencies, including corrections and police departments, that primarily target fugitives from the state. During the past fiscal year, the task force captured more than 330 fugitives in the Phoenix area while issuing more than 400 new felony arrest warrants.

However, the three Sheriff’s Offices in Maricopa, Pinal and Pima counties are not among the 22 law enforcement agencies served by the Marshals Service. It seems that the decrease in crime rate has nothing to do with Arpaio.

The "Tent City Prison" invented by Arpaio celebrated its 19th anniversary on Monday, drawing people's attention to him again. It is said that the concept of "Tent City Prison" came from a hamburger advertising poster of "the world's most famous fast food chain". In 1993, Arpaio used the remaining tents used during the Korean War to create a tent-built prison in southwest Phoenix to house misdemeanor criminals.

According to the Sheriff's Office, "Tent City" has housed more than 427,000 prisoners to date. Although some people have questioned the extremely inhumane practice of the Sheriff to let prisoners stay in an open-air prison in the desert in the summer with temperatures reaching more than 120 degrees, Arpaio said that "Tent City" is still one of his "proudest inventions" and deserves to be promoted nationwide as an economical, safe and successful way to cope with the growing prisoner population.