Ariz. sheriff stumps for volunteer force

Lisa Snedeker

Wednesday, Oct. 28, 1998 | 11:40 a.m.

Sheriff Joe Arpaio believes in the power of volunteers.

That would explain how he has established the nation's largest volunteer posse organization since taking office in 1993.

The Maricopa County, Ariz., chief law-enforcement officer has a reputation as being the "toughest sheriff in America" for his controversial "tent city" jails and hard-core tactics such as chain gangs and a ban on cigarettes, coffee and cable television for inmates.

Arpaio, who was brought in by constable candidate Steve Bergstrom, spoke to about 25 North Las Vegas residents, developers and city officials Tuesday night at Mojave High School about his controversial programs and the potential of volunteers.

"It cost $100,000 to put 1,400 people convicted into tents versus $66 million to build a jail, so I think that is a pretty good savings for the taxpayers," he said.

Arpaio said one of his first moves was to take away smoking from inmates. Then he took away coffee, saving $150,000 a year. He saved another $500,000 by serving baloney sandwiches as a regular meal.

He started supplying inmates with pink underwear because they were smuggling underwear out of the jail, which was costing county residents $48,000 a year.

Home to the third-largest sheriff's office and jail in the country, Maricopa County has a population of 2.7 million -- 7,000 of which are county inmates at any given time.

"The reason the tents went up is because I thought if you build a hotel, people will check in," he said, adding that it was not necessarily because of jail overcrowding.

Franco Giorno, operations manager of a paint distributor, said he came to listen to Arpaio because "I have heard of him and what he stands for, and I admire him and his philosophy of being tough on prisoners."

After five years of housing male convicts in tents and two years of having women serve time in the desert, Arpaio plans on opening his third Tent City in two weeks -- this one for juveniles. He founded the first high school for juvenile offenders charged as adults complete "with computers and teachers."

And there is always room for more.

"We do have a serious overcrowding problem, but I have a pink vacancy sign that shines every night," Arpaio said.

That sign also shines for anyone who wants to volunteer their time to help the sheriff's department.

Arpaio said he has more than 3,000 volunteers who are members of 53 different posses, which have helped law enforcement fight prostitution, graffiti, illegal drugs and dead-beat parents. Volunteers also protect shoppers during the holiday season.

"When I ran for office I said I was going to put up tents, build a posse and get tough in jails," he said. "Right away I starting recruiting for the posses."

Maricopa County has always had posses -- in the form of Search and Rescue teams as well as patrols at Sun City Del Webb in Phoenix, according to the sheriff, who under the state constitution has the power to swear in citizens to join the posse.

"We do have almost 1,000 armed (volunteers)," he said. "We train them, we arm them and they do special programs," Arpaio said. "We also have reserve officers, too."

The posses are not neighborhood watches and work only under the direction of a deputy sheriff.

"So when a posse goes out, it has the same authority as law enforcement," Arpaio said.

There are helicopter posses, Jeep posses and motorcycle posses, all working for the sheriff. The most recently formed posse is known as ACE -- for animal crime enforcement -- which helps the sheriff's department find those who are cruel to animals.

Elise Meister, a three-year resident, asked Arpaio how his ideas could be incorporated in North Las Vegas. "Start thinking about it first," he replied.

A former Las Vegas police officer in 1957, Arpaio went on to serve more than 25 years in the federal Drug Enforcement Administration. He concluded his 32-year federal career as head of the DEA for Arizona.

North Las Vegas Mayor Michael Montandon said that some of Arpaio's programs "have been so fantastically simple that you wonder why we aren't all embracing them more fully."