Pinal Sheriff Mark Lamb’s office spent $200K on guns and ammo from an ‘inmate welfare' fund
The Pinal County Sheriff’s Office run by U.S. Senate candidate Sheriff Mark Lamb has spent at least $217,000 from a jail commissary fund that Arizona lawmakers mandated be used “for the benefit and welfare of inmates” to instead buy a cache of weapons, ammunition and ballistic vests.
The purchases violate state law, criminal justice experts say.
Arizona Luminaria reviewed expenses and revenues from the sheriff’s office inmate welfare fund over a five-year period. From July 2018 to July 2023, the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office spent just over $4 million for inmate services. At least $217,000 of that, or about 5.5%, was spent on guns, bullets and vests for the law enforcement agency, according to county budget documents obtained via a public records request.
Over the same five years, the county spent less than $900 on books for people detained in the jail
https://azluminaria.org/2023/09/29/pinal-sheriff-mark-lambs-office-spent-200k-on-guns-and-ammo-from-an-inmate-welfare-fund/Open linkView original on lemmy.world
Sherrifs have been doing shit like this for as long as we've had sherrifs....
It's almost like we need a national agency to hold police accountable or, I dunno, try fucking anything?
The police unions would start foaming at the mouth.
Let's hope it's cyanide foam
It's a bit of rabies foam mixed in with zombie foam.
Alright, now give them to the inmates.
That's one solution, the other is make the Sheriff (and anyone else involved) an inmate.
I feel like "give them to the inmates" could serve dual purpose here, intentionak or not!
Pima county resident here: Pinal county is pretty much a Trump cesspool of retirees and people who think the world is out to get them. Their county has been on a steady decline as the brain drain moves north to Phoenix. Doesn’t surprise me lmao.
How is his Senate race going from your perspective? Do you think he'll beat Lake?
Arizona has a long history of shitty sheriffs
Is it Pie-nal, pee-nal, or pin-al?
Pin-al
PIN-al or pin-AL?
pi-NAL or p'NAL
This is the way...
Pe-nile, and residents are called Pe-nis. /s
Make the Sherrod an inmate, as he committed a criminal act. Should be fun for him to see how criminals are treated
Well that's one way to ensure their welfare i guess
While not surprising unfortunately, you'd be amazed at how many IBF's get used like administrative slush funds. I bet they got some nice upgrades when they appropriated due to COVID.
One thing that I think needs a lot more attention is the victims compensation fund, and how at least in my state inmates skirt ever having to pay anything into it by abusing the indigent system.