HOLLYWOOD , California ( CNN ) -- Reality television featuring law enforcement officers on the beat is nothing new . A show featuring a lawman who makes jailed inmates wear pink underwear and uses actors to trick suspects , however , is a new twist . Maricopa Co. Sheriff Joe Arpaio now has his own TV show , `` Smile : You 're Under Arrest . '' Maricopa County , Arizona , Sheriff Joe Arpaio -- whose showy brand of justice has raised charges of discrimination and civil-rights abuses while making him a hero among fans of his tough-on-crime attitudes -- will star in `` Smile : You 're Under Arrest . '' The show , which premiers this weekend on Fox Reality Channel , features Arpaio and other officers using elaborate ploys crafted by comedy writers and carried out by professional actors to arrest suspects with outstanding warrants . In one , a suspect is invited to a fake fashion shoot and told he 's going to become a supermodel , according to Fox Reality 's Web site . In another , a suspect is tricked into what he thinks is a job as a movie extra and , after a staged argument between the film 's `` director '' and another actor , gets promoted to the starring role . `` It 's kind of fun to show how stupid they are and , as I say , the looks on their face , '' Arpaio , 76 , said of the suspects wanted for DUIs , drug charges , missed court dates and other offenses . Watch Arpaio explain his methods » . But Arpaio 's critics are n't amused . They say they fear the show will give the controversial sheriff positive publicity , ignoring what they call a darker side to his 16-year tenure as top lawman in the county that includes Phoenix . `` It 's going to celebrate a sheriff that 's frankly scaring this community , a sheriff that has seen violent crime increase significantly in his county , a sheriff that is racially profiling the Latino community , and I doubt that the show is going to reflect that , '' said Paco Fabian , spokesman for the immigrant-rights group America 's Voice . In a statement on the group 's Web site , Fabian calls Arpaio a `` modern day Bull Connor , '' comparing him to the public safety commissioner in 1960s Birmingham , Alabama , whose use of attack dogs and firehoses on civil rights demonstrators made him a symbol of racial intolerance . Dubbed `` America 's Toughest Sheriff , '' Arpaio makes many of his county 's 10,000 or so inmates live in tents . He reinstituted chain gangs -- including crews for women and juveniles -- banned smoking , coffee and movies in his jails and , most recently , moved to require all inmates with money in their jail accounts to pay for their own meals . And then , of course , there 's the pink underwear . `` They were stealing the white underwear , smuggling the underwear out of the jail , '' Arpaio told CNN . `` So you know what ? Give them pink . The other reason is they hate pink . Why would you give the 10,000 inmates the color they like ? '' Earlier this year , the mayor of Phoenix wrote a letter to the U.S. attorney general 's office , asking the FBI and the U.S. Justice Department 's civil rights division to investigate Arpaio 's aggressive illegal immigration crackdowns . Mayor Phil Brown wrote that Arpaio 's sweeps show `` a pattern and practice of conduct that includes discriminatory harassment , improper stops , searches and arrests . '' The letter came after Arpaio , who had already been the target of hundreds of lawsuits , launched a series of what he calls crime-suppression patrols in largely Latino neighborhoods . Critics say the patrols use racial profiling to unfairly target Hispanic drivers and pedestrians , while Arpaio says they have resulted in the deportation of hundreds of illegal immigrants , including some with criminal records . `` We are the only ones cracking down on the state 's human smuggling law , '' Arpaio said . Fabian said America 's Voice is considering putting pressure on companies that advertise during Arpaio 's show . Either way , the series offers another moment in the spotlight for a lawman who has never shied away from it . `` I 'm not going to brag , '' Arpaio said , `` but there is n't anybody in the world who does n't know who this sheriff is . '' CNN 's Brooke Anderson and Doug Gross contributed to this report .
Maricopa Co. , Arizona , Sheriff Joe Arpaio now has own TV show . Arpaio proud of sometimes unorthodox methods , has been criticized for them . Show , `` Smile : " The sheriff is a man who believes in the rule of law