Arizona sheriff to shut down famed Tent City jails complex

Regional News

Audio By Carbonatix

Maricopa County’s new sheriff announced Tuesday that he’s shutting down a complex of jail tents that helped make his predecessor, Joe Arpaio, a national law enforcement figure.

Paul Penzone said at a news conference that the nearly 24-year-old Tent City complex will be closing in 45 to 60 days.

Arpaio opened the complex in August 1993 as a way of easing jail overcrowding. The barbed-wire-surrounded compound was part of a broader campaign by Arpaio to enact get-tough measures in his jails, such as banning cigarettes, creating inmate chain gangs and dressing them in old-time striped prison uniforms.

Closing Tent City complex would undo a critical piece of Arpaio’s six-term political legacy. Penzone, who defeated the 84-year-old Arpaio in November, is already phasing out his predecessor’s practice of making inmates wear pink underwear.

The tents were popular among voters who believed jail is supposed to be a difficult place to live. There are no air conditioners in the tents to provide relief from Phoenix’s triple-digit summertime heat, though inmates can pass the time in an air-conditioned room.

Critics said the complex was a way for Arpaio to garner media attention and contributed to a culture of cruelty within his jails.