Maricopa County marks Tent City’s 20 years

Today marks 20 years that convicted inmates serving sentences of a year or less have spent their days and nights, rain or shine, in temperatures ranging from 20 degrees to 138 ambient air degrees, sleeping in bunk beds with no creature comforts so often enjoyed by inmates in other jails elsewhere in the United States.

Arpaio banned coffee, cigarettes, pornography, unrestricted television access, and movie rentals – all of which were previously allowed, and paid for by taxpayers in the jails prior to Arpaio being elected as Sheriff in 1992.

Nearly 500,000 inmates have fulfilled their jail sentences in Tent City with few incidents of serious note having occurred. One disturbance in 1996 resulted in some tents being set on fire by inmates and three detention officers received minor injuries as a result.

In the 20 years since it was first erected, Tent City Jail has been the venue for a concert given by Glen Campbell. Athletes such as  Charles Barkley, Mike Tyson, Shaquille O’Neal have also visited the Tents. Arpaio has spent the night sleeping in the tents among the inmates on two separate occasions.

To “celebrate” this 20th year, Sheriff Arpaio authorized a “RETRO DAY”…one day where his no frill policies are suspended, in part, and inmates at the Tents can enjoy coffee, better food, rental movies, unrestricted television and music from the 1990’s.

Arpaio will serve coffee and cake to the inmates. He will also hand out cigarettes. Dinner will be served at 6PM and a movie will be shown at 8:15 p.m.

While the cigarettes are fake, the cake is real and so is the R rated movie.