Infamous outdoor jail in Arizona’s biggest county shut down

PHOENIX – Maricopa County’s infamous outdoor jail has been officially shut down.

The Arizona Republic (http://bit.ly/2y4YN3D ) reports that Tent City’s remaining inmates were taken from the 7-acre compound in southwest Phoenix late Saturday and checked into the county’s Durango Jail a few blocks away.

County Sheriff Paul Penzone announced in April that he was closing the complex of jail tents that helped make his predecessor, Joe Arpaio, a national law enforcement figure.

Arpaio opened Tent City in August 1993 as a way of easing jail overcrowding.

The barbed-wire-surrounded compound was part of a broader campaign by Arpaio to enact get-tough measures in his jails such as banning cigarettes, creating inmate chain gangs and dressing them in old-time striped prison uniforms.

Closing Tent City reportedly will save the county about $4.5 million annually.

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Information from: The Arizona Republic, http://www.azcentral.com