I doubt that many people under arrest would actually smile but hey, in this day and age wherein reality TV is a whole new reality on its own, who says that criminals would not smile when arrested? This tag line is not a joke, though. It is actually the title of a new reality TV series starring Sheriff Joe Arpaio of the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office.
Sheriff Arpiao has gained fame – and notoriety – due to his radical approach to law enforcement. According to residents of the county, his methods and actions have not really done much to deal with crime in the area. Yet Fox has given him this new show. Hmmm…
Alternet recently ran this report:
Arpaio has transformed his police department into an immigration-enforcement agency, gaining international notoriety in the process. Armed with a 287(g) agreement with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and a mandate to enforce immigration law, Arpaio has taken the pursuit of undocumented immigrants to “unconstitutional extremes .”
It’s becoming clear that the self-proclaimed “America’s Toughest Sheriff” and his over-the-top, media-grabbing immigration-enforcement methods are harmful to the people of Maricopa County and that local anti-immigrant policies are no substitute for comprehensive and substantive immigration reform at the national level.
Obviously, in spite of his reported inability to keep his county safe – well, at least from the “real” criminals and not the illegal immigrants – Sheriff Arpaio can still get some attention. And that is exactly why a big TV network is spending money on giving him his own reality TV show. Let’s see how long this one will last on air.