Benton County panel tours jail, hears about space issue

The jail has 669 beds, but inmates must be segregated by different categories. Sheriff Shawn Holloway said ideally the jail should be holding no more than 535 people.

BENTONVILLE — Sheriff Shawn Holloway on Thursday led a tour of the Benton County Jail for members of the county’s new Detention and Facilities Subcommittee and pointed out some of the main areas of concern and reasons to expand the jail.

It was the first meeting for the subcommittee, which county officials created to study possible solutions for the jail and court facilities after voters in November rejected two tax proposals dealing with jail expansion.

Justice of the Peace Joel Edwards is subcommittee chairman. Other members include Justices of the Peace Brian Armas, Carrie Perrien Smith, Joseph Bollinger, Richard McKeehan, Ron Homeyer and Danny McCrackin.

Holloway told the subcommittee the jail needs more space for the medical and kitchen areas. He said only one inmate at a time can be held and treated in the medical wing while the kitchen is set to feed 400 inmates, but the jail has held more than 800 inmates at times in the past year.

Holloway said the jail needs more space for inmates to participate in religious or other activities that may help reduce recidivism.

More beds are also needed to deal with the county’s growing population, he said.

The jail had 708 inmates Thursday, according to the Sheriff’s Office’s website. The jail has 669 beds, but inmates must be segregated by different categories. Holloway said ideally the jail should be holding no more than 535 people.

The jail is not holding any misdemeanor prisoners due to lack of space and that’s one situation that must be resolved, he said. He added the jail also needs a place to safely hold people with mental illnesses.

Holloway said if the Sheriff’s Office adds 200 beds it would cost $1.5 million annually.

The county has $29 million for capital expenditures and $14 million in reserves, Edwards said. Bail reform is a state issue and not one the subcommittee can resolve, he said.

He said the Benton County Quorum Court will focus on issues it can resolve since the Quorum Court cannot tell judges how to run their courtrooms or the sheriff how to run the jail. He said the Quorum Court controls only the amount of money given to the judges and sheriff.

The subcommittee will meet regularly, Edwards said. He said the subcommittee will also have to deal with the long- term issue of the Benton County Courthouse, especially when the county gets its eighth circuit judge.

During time allotted for public comment, Sarah Moore, executive director of the Arkansas Justice Reform Coalition, said jail crowding could be resolved if the Sheriff’s Office found alternatives for people accused of low-level felonies instead of holding them in jail. She urged the subcommittee to look at alternatives instead of focusing on increasing the number of beds.

Curt Clark, who owns Action Bail Bond, urged the subcommittee to use common sense to come up with solutions to problems at the jail.

Jon Comstock, also with the reform coalition, urged the subcommittee to convince judges to reduce bond amounts, which he said would immediately reduce the jail population. He said he was pleased Holloway wanted to tackle recidivism in the jail.

The county’s voters in November rejected a temporary sales tax that would have financed a $241 million plan to expand the jail and build a new criminal justice complex. Voters also turned down a permanent sales tax to pay for jail operations.

Edwards pointed out the Quorum Court overwhelmingly supported the sales tax measures. He said additional beds will have to be part of any proposal.