Tain't no better sheriff than we've got

by David Grand
July 15, 2004

The first I knew of sheriffs was when my dad took me see the Adventures of Robin Hood at the age of six in 1937, starring that swashbuckling, movie idol Errol Flynn; and hissing as I watched that evil Sheriff of Nottingham trying by force and trickery to apprehend my hero, who always outwitted him.

And over the years I saw sheriffs from the Wild West, both real and fictional, being portrayed on the screen and television, a la Bat Masterson, who helped Marshall Wyatt Earp bring law and order to Tombstone, Arizona and who became the Sheriff of Dodge City; Sheriff Pat Garrett, who pursued and killed the notorious Billy the Kid; Gary Cooper, the quintessential American hero, for his portrayal of the embattled frontier sheriff in the movie High Noon; John Wayne playing the role of Sheriff John T. Chance in Rio Bravo; Jackie Gleason depicting a bungling sheriff in Smokey and the Bandit; and Andy Griffith starring in a popular TV series as Sheriff Andy Taylor.

Somewhat surprisingly, a number of politicians were sheriffs early on in their careers: Grover Cleveland, the 22nd President had served as sheriff of Erie County, New York; Al Smith, the flamboyant mayor of New York City, governor of New York State and unsuccessful presidential candidate had been the sheriff of New York County; and James Traficant, that blabbermouth congressman from Ohio with the crazy-ass hair was once the sheriff of Mahoning County, who, ironically, is now doing time for flouting the law he once enforced.

And today, there's a sheriff named Joe Arpaio in Maricopa County, Arizona who the media dubbed as "America's Toughest Sheriff." But I'd add the adjective "barbaric" for his treating prisoners as if they were in a concentration camp, living as they do in a Tent City exposed to the elements, working six days a week on chain gangs (including the world's first ever female chain gangs), made to wear striped outfits, and banning smoking, coffee, movies, television and pornographic magazines. (Bet they're hidden somewhere along with ciggies.) 

By way of comparison, Sheriff Ken Tregoning and him are as opposite as night is to day, regarding how they believe inmates should be treated. For while those in the county detention center certainly aren't coddled, they are treated humanely and with the respect due any human being, not as sub humans who are deserving of harsh treatment and humiliation.

And while it's not a cushy place to reside, it's air conditioned, they're allowed to watch television in the day room, given reading material, access to vending machines, have an outdoor rec area in which to exercise; and, if in the Work Release Program, permitted to maintain gainful employment designed to help transition them back into the community prior to their release. Moreover, they're  served nutritious meals at the cost of $2.20 per meal, and when contrasted with the average 30 cents a meal the inmates under Sheriff Arpaio's "loving" care receive (the cheapest in the country), they're living "high on the hog."

In addition to molding his 55 deputies into a disciplined, cohesive police force, he's also instituted a number of cost-saving measures during his time in office; such as, establishing a central booking unit that processed 3,679 arrestees in 2003, with cost avoidance savings of $202,345; entering into an agreement with the INS to house some of their detainees in the detention center, which by the end of FY 2003 resulted in the INS being billed a total of $3,254,530  And starting this August the home detention program will begin, with about 10 percent of the inmate population eligible for the program and with anticipated savings of $1,160 per day. (Other feathers in his cap are: his office has by far the highest percentage of minority employees in the county government; and his command staff averages 32.5 years in law enforcement.

I only hope that I live to see the day that the Sheriff's Office spreads its protective wings across the county and replaces the resident troopers, as has already being done in Union Bridge and in New Windsor at lower costs to the towns. And considering the financial crunch the county's in, you'd think the commishes would jump at the opportunity of realizing a savings of up to 30 percent of the 4.5 million currently allocated for resident troopers by switching over. It's not often the "Golden Goose" appears on the scene. So they'd better grab it while they can.