Attempts to check inmate count proved unsuccessful

EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the second installment of a two-part series about events leading up to the temporary closure of the Garland County Detention Center last month.

County Attorney John Howard asked the Association of Arkansas Counties to rally help for the overcrowding issue at the Garland County Detention Center last year, according to an Oct. 3 email included in materials the The Sentinel-Record obtained through an Arkansas Freedom of Information Act request.

The request sought emails and other correspondence about the management of the jail’s inmate population from jail administrators and supervisors, Sheriff Mike McCormick and Under

Sheriff Jason Lawrence going back to last July. No emails or correspondence from McCormick were included in materials the county provided, nor was any information indicating his correspondence had been reviewed for relevance to the request.

“The Garland County detention facility has now reached crisis level, at 100 percent capacity,” Howard said, telling the AAC that no counties had responded to a request to take inmates. “We are looking at closing the jail… Would you mind putting out another feeler to the other counties to see if any of them have room for inmates. We’re trying to reduce our population by at least 20 today.”

Two weeks later, Chief Deputy of Corrections Steven Elrod emailed staff about an increase in inmate assaults and the growing frequency of reports about items being fashioned into weapons.

The crisis had not abated by June despite efforts to manage it, including former County Judge Rick Davis issuing a county court order last year that accelerated early release under the meritorious good time policy adopted in 2015. Inmates serving misdemeanor sentences can earn one day of time served for every day of manual labor for the state, city or county. A 10 day reduction for every 30 days served was the previous calculation.

Elrod emailed staff last August that Division 2 District Court Judge Ralph Ohm started allowing defendants to receive the two-for-one credit, even if sentencing orders stipulated otherwise. District court also stopped allowing people to serve sentences on weekends, as Elrod indicated in a Nov. 1 email to court staff that the program was causing new arrestees to be turned away when the jail’s intake picked up on weekends.

Citations in lieu of confinement were issued to arrestees at the suggestion of the AAC. The state’s rules of criminal procedure allow the ranking officer on duty at the jail to issue a citation to people arrested on misdemeanor charges. Citations can be issued for felony arrests with the prosecuting attorney’s consent.

Law enforcement agencies are not required to transport arrestees released on citation off jail grounds, Elrod told staff in a Feb. 22 email.

AAC told the county state law allows it to release inmates early if overcrowding jeopardizes their constitutional rights.

“I would think we have the power to release anyone we want if it is related to managing inmate population,” Lt. Donald Ansley told Elrod in a June 12 email. “But we as managers would need to use common sense when picking who to release.”

Capt. Ron Halverson, the jail’s security director, detailed the policy for releasing new female arrestees in an April 3 email to staff. They are held for a minimum of 12 hours, with the hope they can post bond in that time. If not, they are released after listing their contact information and signing an agreement to comply with the orders of the court.

The agreement states they are subject to rearrest if they violate the law after release or if bed space becomes available.

“It should be noted that our primary goal is to have them bond out and not be released (under the inmate population management statute),” Halverson said. “There should be no discussion about the possibility of early release prior to 12 hours.”

Elrod told Halverson to apply the policy to male arrestees in an email last month.

Efforts to manage the population notwithstanding, the inmate count continued to rise. A June 11 email from Lt. Chris McFee to administrators signaled the temporary closure of male housing units a month later.

“Is there a plan of action for our inmate population?” he said. “We are at a point where it is becoming unmanageable. We have exhausted all property bins. We’re running out of mats and other supplies. We’re having difficulty enforcing rules due to limited spacing for confinements. I’m at the point where I will have to triage the arrestees, both male and female, if we continue to receive inmates through the night.”

Elrod indicated in an email three days later that he would make preparations to close the jail to new male arrestees if the inmate count continued to exceed capacity. No one objected when he recommended the closure at the Criminal Justice Advisory Committee’s July 10 meeting, which was convened without notice to the media or public. The closure went into effect later that day and remained in place until July 19.