Paris Hilton's Early Jail Release Criticized

Special treatment for hotel heiress Paris Hilton? Hilton, 29, who was arrested on August 27 in Las Vegas along with boyfriend Cy Waits for drug possession, reportedly sped through her booking process at the Clark County Detention Center. Though processing for a cocaine possession charge usually takes around six hours, Hilton was in and out in just three, prompting questions over whether the socialite had received preferential treatment.

Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Deputy Chief Jim Dixon insists that while Hilton was treated differently from the average inmate, there was good reason to do so. "Yeah, she was treated differently so I don’t have a disruption of my process here at the county jail," he told the Las Vegas Review Journal, "When you bring somebody in like that, everybody comes over and tries to look at them. I’d have officers attempting to keep inmates away from her. I’d have disruptions."

Overcrowding issues in the jail that night exacerbated the problem, forcing Dixon to put Hilton into a sergeant’s office to keep her isolated. "To put Paris Hilton in an open dorm area with male inmates and female inmates would shut down my process," Dixon said. However, aside from the rapid processing, Dixon claims Hilton still went through all the usual booking procedures before her release on the basis of her own recognizance. The heiress’s arrest is her first for possession of a controlled substance. She will appear in court on October 27.  –AMY LEE