A recent segment of Anderson Cooper 360 shined a light on Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s history of using his office to initiate bizarre investigations and settle political scores with those who dared question the Sheriff’s tactics over the years. As CNN notes:
Now, the investigations have turned on Arpaio himself. A federal grand jury is now investigating whether Arpaio, his chief deputy who is on a leave of absence, and a former county attorney used their powers to attack political opponents, according to some who have been called to testify during the grand jury proceedings.
It is critical that the case receive more national attention, but this story is only the tip of the iceberg.
In telling the story, CNN paints a much too rosy picture of "America’s Toughest Sheriff" Joe Arpaio’s crime fighting prowess. Producer Ismael Estrada begins by stating as a matter of fact that Sheriff Joe Arpaio is "tough on crime" and goes on to say that his success is proven because of high poll numbers. I’m no statistics whiz, but I’m pretty sure there’s no direct causation between popularity and lowering violent crime rates.
Take a look at the crime stats:
While it is true that Arpaio is a master at public relations, his record on effective law enforcement is dismal. His made-for-TV crackdowns on otherwise law-abiding unauthorized immigrants have become the highest priority in his jurisdiction. Higher than fighting crime, in fact.
While violent crime rates throughout Arizona went down, crime rates in Arpaio’s jurisdiction went up. From 2002 to 2009, Maricopa County’s crime rate increased 58 percent, while the state as a whole averaged a 12 percent decrease. Compare that 58 percent crime increase to other localities of Arizona that did not use the immigrant-targeting approach. In that same time period, Phoenix enjoyed a 14 percent decrease; Tempe, a 26 percent decrease; and Mesa, a 31 percent decrease.
As if that weren’t enough, the conservative Goldwater Institute revealed that Sheriff Joe had over 77,000 un-served warrants sitting on his desk including over 42,000 felony warrants – including some for very serious crimes like rape and assault. And they further reveal that his prisons have lost their health standards accreditation, millions of dollars in his budget are unaccounted for and the liability insurance for his department is the highest in the nation.
The full laundry list of Arpaio’s failures is too long to tackle here, but suffice it to say that Arpaio’s supposed success at crime fighting is nothing more than an urban myth. In fact, the name "America’s Toughest Sheriff" was given to Sheriff Joe by none other than… Sheriff Joe. In fact, he wrote a book about himself in which he bestowed this nickname upon himself. But as every journalist knows, a catchy nickname does not a record make.
The story of a politician with a reputation for being tough on crime being accused of breaking the law and abusing his power is certainly a good one. But underneath all of the high drama, the sad reality is that Sheriff Joe Arpaio is also a law enforcement nightmare who is putting his county, state, and even country, at risk.
Cross-Posted at America's Voice