Sheriff Penzone Orders Tent City Closed

Tent City, the extension of the Maricopa County Jail that has had an occasionally notorious reputation around the world since opening in 1993, will be closed, Maricopa County Sheriff Paul Penzone announced Tuesday. The tents will be completely decommissioned within six months.

Penzone's decision comes after a detailed analysis by the sheriff's office staff and a group he put together - Sheriff Penzone's Executive Advisory Review or SPEAR.

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"The image of the tents as a deterrent to recidivism, and as a symbol of being tough on crime may have been true in the past," he said. "Today it is only a myth. Tent City is no longer an effective, efficient facility. It has been effective only as a distraction.

"The circus is over; the tents are coming down. We are going to give the criminals what they don’t want and the taxpayers what they do."

The tents - opened under Sheriff Joe Arpaio during his first year in office - were originally a response to growing inmate populations that resulted from "harsh sentencing guidelines" during a "tough on crime era."

Built to house 2,100 inmates, they held 1,700 at its peak. The sheriffs office says there are currently between 700 and 800 inmates. The SPEAR study found that regardless of how many inmates are held there, it costs an average of $8.7 million per year to operate.

The jail gained an occasionally notorious reputation for its harsh conditions which, in 1997, Amnesty International said should be shut because of its "unsuitability as a humane alternative to housing inmates."

Arpaio didn't help himself - occasionally making comments that added fuel to the fire.

"It's 120 degrees in Iraq and the soldiers are living in tents and they didn't commit any crimes, so shut your mouths," he told inmates in July 2011 when the temperature inside the tent was measured at 145.

Despite the heat, the sheriff's office says that in surveys over the years, inmates preferred the tents to jail cells since they were allowed to be in the open air.

The biggest complaint they had was over the vegetarian menu.

“Our internal data and SPEAR’s study showed Tents to be a facility that was expensive to operate and was a drain on our detention officer staffing.," Penzone said. "There is no empirical evidence to indicate that Tents inmates are less likely to re-offend.

"The image of hard core inmates being punished and 'scared straight' through forced exposure to our hot summers was false. All inmates could opt to stay in air conditioned areas and their medical condition and fitness for Tents detention was constantly monitored."

Former State Attorney General Grant Woods, who was the chairman of SPEAR, said the time of Tent City has come and gone.

"Tent City was established to fill the demand for quick and inexpensive beds," said Woods. "Attitudes towards incarceration for many crimes have changed since 1993. By closing Tent City, needed money can be reallocated by moving inmates to other MCSO jails."

The sheriff's office says that the closure will allow about $4.5 million of taxpayer dollars to be more effectively allocated within MCSO’s detention services."

Penzone - who took office in January after defeating Arpaio - says that closing Tent City does not mean that they are getting soft on crime.

“Closing Tent City doesn’t mean you aren’t going to jail in Maricopa County," he said. "We have five hard-walled detention centers waiting for you and your stay will not be a pleasant experience.

"Jail isn’t supposed to be fun, but we can use it more effectively to help those who make mistakes break the cycle of criminal behavior."

Inmates will be reassigned to Estrella and Durango jails. Work furlough and work release inmates numbering about 200 will continue to be housed in one section of Tent City until a new method of managing them can be finalized.

The physical tent structures will be placed in storage, donated, or sent to a landfill, depending on their condition and how they were acquired.

Photos courtesy of Maricopa County Sheriff's Office