ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, August 26, 1996 TAG: 9608260135
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-2 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: PHOENIX
SOURCE: Associated Press
BILLED AS THE NATION'S TOUGHEST sheriff, Joe Arpaio says the practice will be under way next month.
Proclaiming himself an ``equal opportunity incarcerator,'' Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio says he plans to put the nation's first female chain gang to work next month.
``I don't believe in discrimination in my jail system,'' he said last week. ``I feel that women should be treated just like men.''
Arpaio, who revels in his reputation as the nation's toughest sheriff, began his chain gangs for men more than a year ago, linking inmates by leg irons and putting them on busy streets to pull weeds or paint over graffiti.
Beginning Sept. 21, women inmates will start doing the same thing. ``These women will be placed in the same areas where I place the men, out in the streets of Phoenix where everybody can see them,'' he said.
Arpaio also said his women inmates would be among the first to wear the county's new jail uniforms: pants and tops with black horizontal stripes.
Each chain gang will be made up of 15 inmates working five days a week for 30 days. The group will be guarded by armed volunteers.
Arpaio said 34 inmates already have applied for a spot on the chain gang. The applications came from women now locked up with three or four others in dank, cramped disciplinary cells.
``We have women who live in their homes and do hard labor - washing floors and everything else, so I don't think this labor is going to bother them,'' the sheriff said.
``If women can fight for their country, and bless them for that, if they can walk a beat, if they can protect the people and arrest violators of the law, then they should have no problem with picking up trash in 120 degrees.''
Last year, Alabama was the first state to revive chain gangs, followed by Florida and Arizona. But in April, Alabama Corrections Commissioner Ron Jones was fired after he suggested putting women prisoners on chain gangs.
Arpaio first hinted at starting a female chain gang two months ago when he unveiled his tent city for women. Critics say his latest move is just another attempt to garner publicity.
``He likes to come up with a new gimmick every three months,'' said Louis Rhodes, state director of the American Civil Liberties Union. ``Most of his programs or his ideas are basically harmless. They aren't illegal or unconstitutional, they just end up wasting a lot of time and taxpayer money.''
Arpaio acknowledges putting female inmates in chains will grab him more national headlines. He's already known across the country for banning cigarettes, coffee and Playboy magazines for inmates.
The sheriff has come under fire recently because of a preliminary finding by the Justice Department that his officers used excessive force with inmates. Arpaio has shrugged off the report and said he's ready to take on the critics.
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