State reports show many jails crowded

Helder:‘We’re all pretty much in the same boat’

FAYETTEVILLE — Washington County’s struggle with an overcrowded jail is common across Arkansas, according to state inspection reports.

“We’re all pretty much in the same boat,” Sheriff Tim Helder said. Eight of the 10 most populous counties reported overcrowding in their jails, according to the reports.

Helder has been reporting chronic overpopulation at the Washington County Detention Center for more than five years. He proposed a 600-bed, $38 million expansion plan to the Quorum Court last year, but the justices of the peace said they want to explore alternatives to incarceration to reduce the jail population.

One justice of the peace suggested asking voters to approve a temporary sales tax increase to pay for the expansion project and a smaller, permanent sales tax increase to cover the higher operating costs.

The state annually inspects all county jails and detention facilities to determine if they comply with state standards, according to J. Sterling Penix, coordinator of the state’s Criminal Detention Facilities Review Committees.

The committees cover each of the state’s 26 judicial districts, according to state law. The governor

appoints the members, who are residents of the district. Members cannot be public officeholders.

The inspections cover all areas of the facilities’ operations, including staffing, programs for detainees, the physical condition of the buildings and the detainee population, and note any deficiencies. The governing authority will have six months to initiate corrective action or close the facility if a jail fails to meet standards, according to state law.

The Madison County Jail was closed after being cited in July 2014 for failing to meet standards. The county proposed a 1% sales tax increase to pay for improvements, but the proposal was voted down in the November general election, and the jail closed at the end of 2014.

Penix said the inspection reports don’t make policy recommendations.

“We don’t tell Sebastian County, for example, that they need to build a new jail,” he said. “There are lots of way to manage population and construction is only one of them.”

Penix said some counties use a variety of ways, including early release and agreements with other agencies to house overflow inmates.

TRICKLE DOWN

The Sebastian County jail was under federal supervision from 2005 to 2017. With the Department of Justice and the county working under a settlement letter to improve problems identified in staffing levels, medical services, inmate programming, physical conditions at the facility and other deficiencies. The county is evaluating its criminal justice system and jail needs.

Chronic overcrowding affects the physical condition of the facilities, Penix said, including plumbing, doors and cell fixtures. Most overcrowded facilities also reported difficulty maintaining staffing levels, which adversely affects the jail’s operation.

Penix said detention facilities operate under federal and state laws regarding the amount of space available per inmate and requirements for separating different classifications of inmates, including men from women, juveniles from adults, and pretrial detainees from post-conviction detainees.

Helder has worked with the prosecuting attorney, public defender and the circuit judges to manage the inmate population. The county has been releasing about 200 individuals a month on reduced bond, on their own recognizance or on citations, he has said.

Inmates, sometimes as many as 70, have been sleeping on mats on the floor in recent months because of a lack of beds, according to the Sheriff’s Office.

The county hired Stan Adelman, a local lawyer and Oklahoma law professor, to identify detainees who might be released. The Bail Project, a national nonprofit organization that works to provide bond for those unable to afford the cost themselves, has recently begun operating in Washington County.

Helder has said he is open to alternatives, but has also said he still believes the jail will need to be expanded to handle the continuing growth in the county. The Sheriff’s Office recently adopted a policy to limit the number of prisoners brought to the center’s intake area.

CLOSED MORE THAN OPEN

Other counties have adopted policies on releasing inmates as part of their plans to manage their detention center population. The Craighead County Detention Center has a total capacity of 375 inmates, with an operational capacity of about 300, according to its most recent inspection report. The county has released up to 20 detainees a week to keep the population down.

In Saline County, the sixth largest in Arkansas by population, the jail has a design capacity of 234 and the most recent inspection report said the average daily population was 237. The facility has been overpopulated since 2013, according to the reports.

Saline County Sheriff Rodney Wright said he closes the jail when the population reaches 240. To be admitted, prisoners must be facing violent felony charges or domestic abuse and just a few others. Then the jail releases other detainees on a one-forone basis.

“Over the last two years, we’ve been closed more than we’ve been open,” Wright said.

He said the county has considered expanding the jail, but hasn’t identified a funding source. He said Saline County is one of two Arkansas counties with no sales tax to support the general fund, with Monroe County being the other. A voluntary millage the county placed on property tax statements has raised about $45,000, he said. Wright estimated the cost of adding a new jail pod to house 80 prisoners would be about $1.5 million.

“In 10 years, maybe I can get there, but that’s not realistic,” Wright said.

“We don’t tell Sebastian County, for example, that they need to build a new jail.”

— J. Sterling Penix, coordinator of the state’s Criminal Detention Facilities Review Committees