The former Playboy model and TV star was in the lockup in Arizona county, but not because she'd committed a crime. 

Rather she was there in her capacity as a spokesperson for PETA, and helping to promote Sheriff Joe Arpaio's new all-vegetrian meal plan in the Maricopa County Jail in Arizona.

While eating less meat can be good for your health (in particular you cholesterol levels), Arpaio was keen to point out that his new plan was saving nearly $200,000 a year, and had been in operation for nearly 16 months at this stage. 

Anderson has long been a vegan and is a big fan of getting people to eat less meat, so she came along to serve lunch on the day to the 8,000 prisoners at the facility. 

Their day to day meals involve getting "a peanut butter sandwich with oranges and some crackers for brunch" as well as a meal made up of vegetables and/or soy for dinner. There were presumably few complaints when Pamela Anderson is handing you your lunch, instead of Lunch Lady Doris. 

However, the visit was not without controversy, as Arpaio has a reputation for being a particularly tough law enforcer and has been accused of targeting minorities, a charge he refutes stating instead that he is an "equal opportunity guy, I lock up everybody". Previous visits to the prison found that the food was below par too: the carrots were apparently brown, while the soy looked like "wood chips". As a result, PETA have taken a bit of flack for being involved with Arpaio, although their Vice President Dan Mathews recently said that he tasted the food during a factory tour recently and that he was "incredibly impressed to see the fresh produce".

Via BroBible, The Daily Mail