Tough Cop

by Yerusalyim 15 Replies latest jw friends

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  TD

  Sheriff Joe was wildly popular here a few years ago. Local polls showed voter approval in the 90th percentile, which is amazing given the fact that Arizona is almost a dead 50/50 liberal/conservative split anymore. I voted for him myself. (Not the last election, but the one before)

  What changed? For me, it's not the fact that he's a grandstanding buffoon. All elected officials fit that discription to varying degrees and I can overlook that in a Sheriff that is tough on crime. It's not the string of deaths in his jail, but that's part of it. It wasn't the investigation over his alleged wiretapping of the attorney general, but that's part of it. It's not his harrasment of every libreal journalist and conservative talk radio host that has said anything negative about him, but that's part of it.

  I think the main thing for myself and others here, is the gradual realization that being tough on crime is not quite the same thing as making a public spectacle of being tough on the inmates themselves to further one's political career. Tent city is not analogous to the Iraq theater. There are dozens of legitimate medical reasons why some people should not be exposed to the summer heat here for extended periods of time ranging from things as common as hypertension and advancing age to things as exotic as ectodermal dysplasia. These conditions would disqualify you for service in the armed forces but obviously can't apply to incarceration because people of all ages and physical conditions get arrested.

  County jails also house a fair amount of pretrial detainees. Not all of these people will be found guilty of any crime. While Sheriff Joe has succesfully peddled the idea that convicted criminals deserve no better than to be housed in temperatures that sometimes exceed 120 degrees and fed for 22 cents a day on rotten food, the idea that people should be "punished" prior to their conviction flies in the face of the basic principles upon which our judicial system was founded. This was one of colonial America's orignal quibbles with England for Christ's sake.

  Still and all, it's fair to point out that we here in Maricopa county elected him. We have what we deserve. The fact that you guys seem to like him makes our embarassment more perceived than real I suppose
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  Simon

  For all the "tough approach" and very tough prison regime, you do have one of the largest prison populations.

  So, tell me ... does it work? Do people reoffend? Does it put people off crime? Are you just punishing further people who have had bad breaks already? Does it help rehabilitiate people to integrate with society again?
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  L_A_Big_Dawg

  For all the "tough approach" and very tough prison regime, you do have one of the largest prison populations.

  So, tell me ... does it work? Do people reoffend? Does it put people off crime? Are you just punishing further people who have had bad breaks already? Does it help rehabilitiate people to integrate with society again?

  Simon,

  What are we supposed to do? Slap them on the wrist, and say, "What naughty boys and girls you have been? Now go your way, and don't do that again."

  LABD
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  Atilla

  He said Wednesday that he told the inmates: "It's 120 degrees in Iraq and the soldiers are living in tents and they didn't commit any crimes, so shut your mouths. "

  That's questionable.
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  Michael3000

  Good point, Simon! Ya see, folks - being locked up away from the rest of society IS THE PUNISHMENT. Not inhumane living conditions. Should hardened criminals be treated "softly"? No; but they shouldn't be subjected to poor treatment above and beyond what they're already experiencing.
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  L_A_Big_Dawg

  Michael said:

  Good point, Simon! Ya see, folks - being locked up away from the rest of society IS THE PUNISHMENT. Not inhumane living conditions. Should hardened criminals be treated "softly"? No; but they shouldn't be subjected to poor treatment above and beyond what they're already experiencing.

  Ok, so while they in prison, prisoners get: 3 hots and a cot, the ability to sell drugs, supplies and of items on a black market system. Work-out in the yard's weight lifting area. Get an education supplied by our tax dollars. Write books and make money. Where is the poor treatment. Oh and before you ask me if I spent time in one or more of the various penal systems in the U.S. The answer is "No." However, both my children's godparents have, and two of my most trusted friends have (one of whom was a member of "La Eme" aka The Mexican Mafia).

  Now do some learn a trade, yes. Have some actually be "rehabilitated" during their time in the "pokey?" Yes. Many question whether or not prison should be a place of "punishment" rather than "rehabilitation". Personally I think that is a false dilema (sp?). Prison should be both. There should be hard labor involved, perhaps for the first half of the sentence (helping to rebuild our country's (USA) failing infrastructure, or working on someother public endeavor. The second half, should then be spent in rehab'ing the prisoner. Getting hime skills, and education to get a job (if schooling is needed a G.E.D.) or a trade. Him getting a college education at tax payer expense is a bit much in my mind. I had to pay, and pay, and pay for my education. They should pay too. And don't give me any bull ca-ca about your not a minority. In case you haven't looked i have a natural tan, and it doesn't get lighter during the winter. I did a lot on my own. I value my education because I worked my @$$ off for it. I value the freedom that it has given me. I hold to the old axiom, "You value most, that which has cost you most."

  LABD