BENTONVILLE — The Benton County Jail annex that opened in 2011 to ease overcrowding has sat empty for the last month. That will change in the coming months.
“It is not closed permanently,” said Major Rob Holly.
Benton County Sheriff’s Office officials have decided to use the jail annex to house female prisoners. The jail housed 60 female inmates on Friday.
“Separating the male and female prisoners may eliminate other problems,” Holly said. “It’s always a risk when they are housed together.”
Low-risk female prisoners will be housed in the annex. Female prisoners with a history of violence or that act out violently in the jail will not be held there, Holly said.
The decision to close the annex was made because of a declining inmate population, Holly said. The annex opened when the jail population consistently was near 500 inmates. There were about 340 inmates when the annex was closed. Space is no longer an issue so inmates assigned to the annex were returned to the main jail, Holly said.
The jail annex opened in April 2011 at a cost of $1.9 million. It was designed for 144 nonviolent prisoners and gave the overall jail complex a capacity of 650 inmates.
Holly said the annex was built prior to the state revising its sentencing standards. That led to a reduction in state prisoners held in county jails. The Benton County Jail held more than 100 inmates awaiting transfer to the Arkansas Department of Correction before new state regulations started. There were 31 prisoners awaiting transfers to a state prison on Wednesday, according to jail records.
Shea Wilson, a spokesperson for the Arkansas Department of Correction, said they have 510 males and seven females in county jails across the state awaiting transport to the Department of Correction. Wilson said the backup time is in the six-week range.
“The sentencing measures have kept our numbers lower over the past year from some previous historic highs, but those measures will only slow growth,” Wilson said. “We expect some rises.”
Jail Captain Jeremy Guyll said the jail would hold state inmates for up to six months before space opened at a state prison. The time range now is usually less than a month.
Justice of the Peace Tom Allen said he was unaware the annex had closed, but he had heard conversations about “mothballing” the facility to save money.
Benton County Judge Bob Clinard said he understood Sheriff Kelley Cradduck’s decision to move inmates back into the main jail.
“If he’s able to house all the prisoners in the main jail then that is his decision,” Clinard said. “It seems soundly based to me. He runs the jail and Sheriff’s Office.”
Allen said he supports the plan to move female prisoners to the annex.
“It would be disappointing to think we spent precious resources on something that we did not need,” Allen said.