Northwest Arkansas legislators said they support giving more money to a state correction system overwhelmed by record numbers of inmates.
The Arkansas General Assembly is focused on whether to continue the private option, a plan to help tens of thousands of low-income Arkansans buy private health insurance. But state prisons and county jails are overcrowded now, and the state's Department of Correction has requested millions of additional dollars this year to ease the strain.
At A Glance
Arkansas Department of Correction Requests
2013-14 Supplemental
• $720,000 for 200 beds at North Central Unit
• $7.4 million for county jail reimbursement
• $10 million for employee holiday, hazardous duty pay
2014-15 and beyond
• $5 million for 374 more beds throughout system
• $6 million for additional county jail reimbursement
• $5.1 million to begin construction of 1,000-bed prison
• $10 million to begin Pine Bluff Complex renovation, 328 more beds
Source: Staff Report
"Whenever we get past the private option, we'll tackle other things," Rep. Micah Neal, R-Springdale, said last week. "I think (more funding) is going to happen."
Rising Numbers
Almost 18,000 men and women are in state custody, 1,200 more than the system was built for, said Shea Wilson, correction department spokeswoman. About 2,800 state prisoners are in county jails, waiting to be transferred after their conviction. Prison and jail populations are at record highs.
Because of those numbers, county jails and state facilities are running out of space and money, and are becoming more dangerous for inmates and officers.
The department made two requests earlier this year to supplement this fiscal year's budget: $10 million to pay its employees and $7.4 million to reimburse county jails. It's also seeking roughly $21 million to open up about 2,000 beds in the next several years.
The department's annual budget is about $320 million.
Legislators said they were particularly supportive of the funding for more beds and more payments to county jails. The state pays jails $28 per day per state inmate. At the Washington County Detention Center, that payment covers half of the actual housing cost or less.
"It seems pretty serious to me to at least be caught up in what we owe them," said Sen. Uvalde Lindsey, D-Fayetteville. "It's pretty hefty, but it's all dedicated to something we've got to do."
Some legislators said the state's payments should go up, perhaps to $32 or so per day.
"In a state prison it costs $62 to house a person, so I think it's certainly fair to raise the reimbursement," said Sen. Bart Hester, R-Cave Springs. "I'm as far right as they come, especially on fiscal issues. But I'll be in the trenches trying to get them their money."
Rep. Sue Scott, R-Rogers, said she was happy to keep building more prisons, echoing many of her colleagues. The number of dangerous people has kept rising, she said, thanks to the Internet and other technology.
"Although years ago I might not have been in favor of building bigger jails, I am now," Scott said. "I think we need to send a strong message to criminals in Washington and Benton County. You hurt our people, and you are going to pay for it. You're going to pay for it dearly."
Problems With Parole
Washington County Sheriff Tim Helder and others pointed to recent changes in parole rules for the overcrowding. Since last summer, people accused of violating parole must be jailed until a hearing. About 100 of the county jail's 600 inmates are either suspected or convicted of parole violation.
The change was largely responding to a Little Rock murder pinned to Darrell Dennis, who had violated his parole several times. Helder called it a "knee-jerk" reaction.
"It caused a statewide ripple of, 'We can't let this happen,'" he told members of the Quorum Court early this month. County jails felt the immediate impact, Helder added.
"That did create a spike in the backup, because more people were being pulled back in," said Wilson, the department spokeswoman. She said the typical inmate was younger and more violent than before, a shift that has led to longer sentences and a larger prison population.
Rep. Dan Douglas, R-Bentonville, said he was opposed to the parole rule change, but others from Northwest Arkansas said they supported it despite its role in the overcrowding problem.
Douglas and Lindsey suggested adding parole and probation officers to handle the increased caseload, and diverting nonviolent or drug offenders to parole, drug courts or other non-prison programs.
"How many of these people are in there because of an addiction problem, and do we need to look back at treating addiction problems," Douglas said. "We can't lock everybody up forever."
Along those lines, Rep. Duncan Baird, R-Lowell, said the state should re-examine its correction system "to make sure we're being tough, but at the same time we're doing it in the most efficient way possible." Scott called for a similar review.
"We just need to make darn sure that our punishment that we give -- that the punishment fits the crime," Scott said.
NW News on 02/24/2014