His remarkable 32-year federal career ended with a stint running the DEA operation in Arizona, where he settled with wife Ava upon retirement. The sedentary life would not last long, for in 1992 Joe decided to run for the office of sheriff of Maricopa County, the sixth largest county in the country, covering nearly 9,200 square miles, home to almost 4 million people, a territory that includes Phoenix, the fifth most populous city in the U.S., as well as small towns, desert, mountains, lakes and forests.

Now, after almost 16 years as sheriff, his list of accomplishments is long and remarkable. The Tent City Jail – the posse – the chain gang – pink underwear – all these programs, and so many more, have captured the notice of the public and the media around the world.

So to a few specifics: The sheriff has over 10,000 inmates in his jail system. Two thousand convicted men and women serve their sentences in Tent City, a compound of old U.S. Army tents that the Sheriff got for free, in lieu of building another jail complex for around $100 million.

Of equal success and notoriety are his chain gangs, which contribute thousands of dollars of free labor to the community. The male chain gang, and the world’s first-ever female and juvenile chain gangs, clean streets, paint over graffiti, and bury the indigent in the county cemetery.

Also impressive are the sheriff’s get-tough policies. He banned smoking, coffee, movies, pornographic magazines, and unrestricted TV in all jails. He has the cheapest meals in the U.S., averaging about 15 cents, and inmates are fed only twice a day, cutting the labor costs of food delivery. He even stopped serving salt and pepper, saving taxpayers another $20,000 a year.

Another famed program relates to pink boxers. When it was discovered several years ago that inmates were stealing jailhouse white boxers to the tune of $40,000 annually, Arpaio had all inmate underwear dyed pink for better inventory control. The same held true for the jail’s handcuffs - when they started disappearing, the sheriff ordered pink handcuffs as a replacement. And that wasn’t the end of it: When the sheriff learned of the calming effect of the color pink, he ordered everything that inmates use - sheets, towels, socks - everything except the old-fashioned black-and-white striped uniforms - dyed pink.

In addition, Sheriff Joe has launched rehabilitative programs like “Hard Knocks High,” the only accredited high school under a sheriff in an American jail, ALPHA, an anti-substance-abuse program that has greatly reduced recidivism, a “Read to Me Mommy” literacy program, Better Parenting Skills classes, and other courses designed to break the cycle of criminal behavior.

The posse, whose ranks have increased to 3,000 members under Arpaio, is the nation’s largest volunteer law enforcement force. Posse men and women help in search-and-rescue and other traditional police work, as well as in special operations including rounding up deadbeat parents, fighting prostitution, patrolling malls during holidays, and investigating animal cruelty complaints. The posse’s contributions are invaluable, and essentially free to taxpayers.

And then there’s immigration, where the sheriff became as the first local law enforcement official to work with the federal government and take on the illegal alien fight. Fully 160 of his deputies to date have been sworn in as federal officers, trained to enforce U.S. immigration laws. Sheriff Joe has emerged as both the spokesman for those intent on enforcing the laws of the land, and a lightning rod for those on both sides of the immigration issue.

Given all that, it is no surprise that Sheriff Arpaio has been profiled in over 2,000 domestic and foreign newspapers, magazines, and TV news programs. Under his leadership, the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office has joined the ranks of elite law enforcement agencies.