Session Ends With Little Change For Crowded Prisons

Arkansas officials, from county sheriffs to state legislators to the governor, have long raised the alarm on overcrowded prisons, but the recent fiscal session ended with few changes to fix the problem.

After the dust settled on next fiscal year's $5 billion budget, the money flowing to state prisons, parole and nonviolent offender programs was essentially flat, increasing about 1.5 percent to $530 million. A $5 million proposal to dedicate money to design and begin building a prison died before a vote in the General Assembly.

Meanwhile, Arkansas' prisons are housing about 1,000 more people than they were designed for, while almost 2,800 are waiting in county jails to be transferred, straining local resources and making jails more dangerous, corrections officials said.

"We're going to pay for that down the road is what's going to happen, because we did not plan ahead," said Rep. Sue Scott, R-Rogers, who strongly supports building a prison. "We are going to see our prisons filled more and more, and we need to plan for that. Did we do a good job of that this session? We don't know."

Paying The Bills

County jails are paid $28 a day for housing each state inmate, and most of the budget increase went to that pot of money. Legislators approved a $4.2 million supplement to the reimbursement money for this fiscal year, which ends this summer.

That supplement fills the gap between what was intended for county jails -- about $9.5 million this year -- and what will be owed.

The legislators also bumped next year's reimbursement money $3 million above this year's level, suggesting the backlog isn't expected to go anywhere but up.

"That's a huge increase in the ongoing revenue," said Rep. Duncan Baird, R-Lowell, co-chairman of the Joint Budget Committee. "I think that was a tremendous step forward."

Many counties were hoping for a boost in the $28 fee that didn't come, said Ronnie Baldwin, executive director of the Arkansas Sheriffs' Association. Housing inmates costs almost twice that in Northwest Arkansas' jails.

Even with a boost, the crowding problem would persist, Baldwin said.

"More money doesn't help the issue right now. We've got to get them out of the jails," he said, noting county jails collectively hold more state inmates than any single state prison. "It's creating a very hazardous situation."

Violent incidents between inmates and against officers quadrupled last year in Washington County, where more than one-third of 580 inmates were meant for state custody Friday. Violence doubled in Benton County, with roughly the same proportion of state inmates.

"It is frustrating, because with overcrowding come a whole lot of other issues," said Deputy Keshia Guyll with Benton County. "It raises the dangers."

Fayetteville police arrested a man this week in connection with shots fired in a neighborhood, where no one was injured. Delvin Salley, 21, was released from the Washington County Detention Center with an ankle monitor because of a lack of space. He was waiting transfer to the state.

A New Jail?

Before the fiscal session began, the Department of Correction requested about $5 million to begin design and construction of a 1,000-bed jail. A bill providing this money died in the Joint Budget Committee.

Instead, legislators boosted the governor's rainy-day fund by $3 million, which might go to the same purpose. It would have to be approved by the assembly, however, and isn't limited to prison use.

"I think, in the end, there was just an overwhelming support for spending very little of the surplus now, taking a look at these critical issues over the next year," Baird said, adding he supports paying for a new prison. Legislators will study the issue, he said, and more money could come next year's session.

"Everybody's at the table, recognizing it's a major problem and trying to work it out," said Washington County Sheriff Tim Helder. "I think all the players are adding input for the first time in a long time."

The bill's failure means the Department of Correction has a couple hundred new beds this year, barely enough to dent overcrowding. The department requested $5 million for 374 additional beds throughout its facilities and received $3 million.

"We knew this was going to be a tough session," said Shea Wilson, department spokeswoman. "There were a lot of agencies with a lot of needs. We're going to manage with what we have. That's just the nature of the business for any of us."

"The alarm bells are not any quieter," she added.

Other Solutions

Overcrowding also raises questions on whether the state should be sending fewer people to prison, some advocates said.

"We incarcerate more people in this country than any country on Earth," said Rita Sklar, director of the American Civil Liberties Union's Arkansas chapter. "Mass incarceration of Americans, of our people, is not the answer to solving crime or creating a safer, better society. There are much better uses of that money."

One problem is jailing people for substance use that doesn't harm others, Sklar said. She also pointed to rules sending suspected parole violators straight to jail, enacted last year after a parolee murdered a teen in North Little Rock.

"That's not rational. That's no way to run a state," she said. Instead, the state should work on education and fight poverty, Sklar said, a sentiment Baird echoed.

Arkansas Community Correction works along those lines with nonviolent, non-sexual offenders who have short sentences, typically four years or less. The department, which has a women's prison in Fayetteville, oversees parole and job and life training programs for inmates.

The department also hopes to give a hand to the Department of Correction by making room for some offenders who are less than four years from parole eligibility or release, said Dina Tyler, deputy director.

"What we're proposing is to take them on the back end, and while they're here focus on re-entry, because they're going back into the community," she said. Perhaps 175 beds or more might be available, she added.

But the department faces some of the same legislative reluctance to bump funding, Tyler said. The department was given dozens of new parole officer positions but not the money to pay them.

"Money is a problem, and everyone is aware of it," Tyler said. "We're just going to have to make do with what we have, and if we fall short in some areas, then so be it. Our facilities are open and our people are on the job, and right now, that's saying a lot."