IT was a rootin' tootin' meeting of minds when two famous lawmen met to discuss their unique crime-busting tactics.

The showdown between "Robocop" Ray Mallon and controversial US sheriff Joe Arpaio was not at the OK Corral, but in the more genteel surroundings of Middlesbrough Town Hall.

Sheriff Arpaio is sheriff of Maricopa County, in Arizona, and has been dubbed the toughest cop in the US.

He is on a UK tour and yesterday met Middlesbrough Mayor Mr Mallon to discuss crime and justice.

In April, sheriff Arpaio grabbed headlines when he ordered 700 hardened prisoners to parade through Phoenix, Arizona, to a new prison, naked except for pink flip-flops and matching delicately cute pink shorts.

He said: "I put 'em right on the street where everyone can see 'em. I use it for deterrence to fight crime."

The sheriff also started the world's only chain gang for women and children, while his solution to prison overcrowding was to house inmates in tents at a desert camp where summer temperatures can soar to 120F (49C).

Mr Mallon, meanwhile, the former head of Middlesbrough CID, rose to fame because of his zero tolerance policing, which took a hard line with petty criminals.

He has also pioneered a community warden scheme that has cut crime in Middlesbrough. Last year, he caused controversy when he urged wardens to smash doors down and drag criminals out of their homes.

A spokesman for Mr Mallon said: "The fact that sheriff Arpaio came to see us in Middlesbrough is a measure of how the town's crime-fighting success has spread so widely."

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