Deputies using pink handcuffs

PHOENIX -- Some Phoenix-area inmates are in the pink -- pink handcuffs.

Maricopa County sheriff's deputies began using fluorescent pink handcuffs Thursday to transport inmates.

Sheriff Joe Arpaio said he introduced the pink handcuffs because he was tired of losing them to his own deputies and other law enforcement agencies. He ordered 1,000 of the pink handcuffs, which are made in England, at $19.44 each. The regular ones cost $18.84 a pop.

"We presume nobody else has pink handcuffs, so we can spot them and know they're ours," he said

Patrol deputies will still carry the silver cuffs, which they pay for themselves.

The new cuffs will go well with the county's color scheme. Maricopa County inmates wear pink boxers and sleep on pink sheets.