SPRINGDALE — Those convicted in Springdale District Court are spending less time in a jail bed and more time at home with an ankle monitor.
“Home monitoring has proven to be a good alternative for nonviolent offenders,” said Jeff Harper, Springdale district judge.
The Springdale jail has only 12 beds, Harper said. House arrest with monitoring has allowed those guilty of less serious offenses to keep their jobs while facing responsibility for their actions, he said.
AT A GLANCE
Cost Of Ankle Monitoring
Costs for ankle monitoring must be paid by the prisoner. There is an initial $25 fee and a charge of $13 per day plus tax.
Source: Springdale District Court
Those sentenced to monitoring committed misdemeanor traffic violations, especially driving on a suspended or revoked license or without a license at all, Harper said.
“It’s not good economically for the community for them to spend time in jail, lose their jobs and not be able to pay their fines,” Harper said.
Those with ankle monitors are allowed to go to work, school, church and medical appointments, said Jerry Tedford, court probation supervisor. Outside of those activities, they must stay home.
The number of people scheduled to get monitors each week varies, with high numbers coming after a traffic court day, Tedford said. The high, since the program began in 2008, is 32 in one week.
Darrell Slaughter of Sentencing Options Specialists was working Sept. 17 on a list of 13 people scheduled to receive ankle monitors. Sentencing Options has a contract with the court to provide and monitor the bracelets.
“These are not bad people,” Slaughter said. “They need to learn to be more responsible for their actions.”
One by one, 10 people paid the monitor fee, signed the paperwork and had the bracelet attached to a leg. One man said he didn’t have the money to pay for the monitor and wouldn’t a week later when given the opportunity to wait. He was booked into jail to serve six days.
Another, who said he didn’t have the money, quickly asked for time to go home and borrow it. He returned and paid the monitoring costs.
A third person didn’t show up. The court can issue a warrant for his arrest, Tedford said.
Those with monitors wear them the number of days sentenced in court. Most fall between two and nine days, but can go as many as 90, Tedford said.
Monitor technology has improved, said Johnny Wagner, owner of Sentencing Specialists. False locations are a thing of the past, he said.
“We know where they are within a few feet or less,” Wagner said. “We get a location fix every minute.”
Court officials can check the location of a person through the Internet, Wagner said.
Wagner’s company works with courts and law enforcement agencies in Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas, he said.
Most court-ordered monitoring is through circuit courts, Wagner said. Springdale District Court has the most need, Harper said, because of the city jail. Bentonville, Fayetteville and Rogers district courts take their misdemeanor offenders to county jails, he said.
Rogers District Court uses house arrest with monitoring occasionally, said a court spokeswoman. The number averages about two a month, with a high of about 10, the spokeswoman said.
Springdale may expand its program in the future, Harper said. Court officials are considering monitors that can detect alcohol or drugs in the bloodstream.
That technology is not perfected yet, Wagner said.
“We’ve tried those and the readings are not consistent,” Wagner said. “They also have problems with water.”
People wearing monitors used by Wagner’s company can take baths or showers with no effect, Slaughter said.