I had read about Sheriff Joe before and thought his policies sounded pretty good. What I read didn't go into detail about this aspect of it though:

http://arizonaduilaws.info/blog/?p=18

Tent city prison camps? Is it just me, or is that kind of a creepy, slippery slope to be treading?

Anything I read in emails from my family and friends (unless it's "honey, what are we having for dinner?") I assume is about as real as that guy in Kenya wanting to give me his $500 million bank account number for a small fee.

Apparently some of it was true. Anyway, Sheriff Joe said in one of those chain emails "If it's good enough for our soldiers in Iraq, it's good enough for the criminals."

Welcome to Arizona! Joe and a few of our other public officials are the, um, cream of the crop! The article sounds pretty accurate from what I've seen in the local papers and the few people I've spoken with.

Sheriff Joe has a history of controversial inmate treatments, this didn't surprise anyone here.

Anything I read in emails from my family and friends (unless it's "honey, what are we having for dinner?") I assume is about as real as that guy in Kenya wanting to give me his $500 million bank account number for a small fee.

Apparently some of it was true. Anyway, Sheriff Joe said in one of those chain emails "If it's good enough for our soldiers in Iraq, it's good enough for the criminals."

I'm not sure if I understand what you're saying here. Are you disputing the accuracy of the site? I can find some mainstream news reports about it. I've seen them before.

I think its great, like Joe says, you don't want to be in his camp, don't get in trouble in his county.

Don't like the time don't do the crime. Why does prison/jail time need to be a country club? Prison is not fun nor should it be. Stupidity should be painful.

I'm not sure if I understand what you're saying here. Are you disputing the accuracy of the site? I can find some mainstream news reports about it. I've seen them before.I thought Sheriff Joe was a hoax until I read your article. Note the Apparently some of it was true... Which meant that some of what I read in those emails was presumably truer than I first thought.

And yeah, I don't see a problem with this tent city.

So do they have to wear pink uniforms and eat bologna sandwiches? That last wouldn't bother me. I'm craving one now thinking about it.

I'm no fan of the privatized prison model, so while the tent-city concept isn't a bad thing per se, some of the specific policies seem a little over the top. At some point you have to look at what is the point of the prison versus simply being cruel for its own end.

Anyone who thinks your standard, general population jail/prison is a country club has been reading too many email forwards. Trust me on that one.

I don't see how you can nonchalantly gloss over the fact that we've got people being put in modern-day concentration camps for misdemeanors. That seems a bit excessive.

So it would be better to put them in block with rapist and murderers? Rather sleep in a tent then get my salad tossed.

And most concentration camps had buildings (thought makeshift I agree still not tents):)

But with the screw ups I hung with in my youth i dont see issue here. I even have a so called "friend" in that very prison. And he before his big mess up was in tent thing for while. He said it was cool because didnt feel like real prison, felt more openish (still locked up though). But now he in main because he stupid after he got out.

I live in AZ and the thing that those of you who are making comments like “Don’t drink and drive then. /no sympathy” is that these people are not in for having blood alcohol levels of 0.2 or even in many cases 0.08. A lot of these folks had ONE BEER, that is right, JUST ONE, and then since DUI is such a lucrative business in AZ for the sheriff’s dept they were found to be “impaired” even though they had blood alcohol levels of say 0.02 or 25% of the legal limit.

If this is true, something has to be done.

This site has some interesting info:

http://www.dui.com/arizona

The first time someone dies or has serious life threatening injury in those "holding" cells, Sheriff Joe may become an inmate of his own camp.;)

That's more than likely true. DUI has become big business for the 5-0. They can convict you for being a "less safe driver" in most states, even in spite of a 0.0 BAC.

So it would be better to put them in block with rapist and murderers? Rather sleep in a tent then get my salad tossed.

And most concentration camps had buildings (thought makeshift I agree still not tents):)

But with the screw ups I hung with in my youth i dont see issue here. I even have a so called "friend" in that very prison. And he before his big mess up was in tent thing for while. He said it was cool because didnt feel like real prison, felt more openish (still locked up though). But now he in main because he stupid after he got out.

At least in Georgia, DUI offenders wouldn't be put in prison. They also wouldn't be mixed in with violent offenders in jail, once processed and in general population.

The tent city not seeming like a prison isn't much of a testimonial for it, considering they're putting misdemeanor offenders in it.

That's Arizona for you! Good thing I'm only here for half the year...

Sheriff Joe requires all inmates to be clean-shaven. Moreover, inmates with hair length below the ear will be required to cut their hair or be forced to go to the “hole

Thats the only thing sounds unreasonable or out of the norm for jail i could see.

I'd be more concerned about sleep deprivation--I can sleep through most sounds, but a lot of people can't, and the article makes it seem like there are loudspeaker announcements and other activities at all hours of the night.

That would certainly be a noteworthy issue Palarran.

Wow, I have come to the start realization absolutely none of you have ever been down. Ol' joe is teaching these guys that they had better get their act together. Trust me real prison is much worse.

On the subject of sleep deprivation, how common is tent rape?

My sister spent time in one of Sherrif Joe's 'tent prisons' for DUI. In Phoenix. In July. In 117' degree weather, and they *charged* (quarters only) for anything resembling potable water (no lie, they had a fetid-looking tub that the poor or unprepared could use for necessary hydration, which inmates also had a tendency to soak towels in in order to cool off). She came back from her last weekend of that (she did three as part of her sentence) with severe dehydration (went from jail to hospital) and three different infections.

Truthfully, I'm surprised that they *haven't* had any fatalities, or a huge class action, over this yet. That they aren't mixed with the 'violent' offenders (and violent is relative, assaults *were* common even in the women's jail and Becky was robbed the first day she was in there and subsequently learned to hide her change in her underpants) is small compensation, but I *will* say that she came back from that experience determined to do all of her serious drinking at home ;).

Regards,
Nydia

Lesson learned, eh?