How We See It: Prison Reform A Challenge For Lawmakers

The population in the Washington County Detention Center shrank in the last couple of months to numbers far more manageable. And by manageable, we mean the way it should be.

Jail officials recently said they were holding about 500 men and women, down from a high of about 630 in October. In Washington County, Benton County and others, it's been a tough year to be a jailer because of overcrowding largely blamed on the same problem in the state's prison system.

"A few less fights, and everything's a little more controllable," Detention Maj. Randall Denzer recently told a reporter. "People got a little more breathing room now."

A jail at or beyond maximum capacity isn't a pleasant place to be, and we're not just talking about inmates but the people in charge of keeping the confined under control. Jails are full of people who, shall we say, have impulse control issues and not always the best judgment. Overcrowding intensifies the atmosphere, creating more safety hazards for everyone.

So it's good news the numbers in the jail have been on decline, but a state prison official says it's only temporary. That's the bad news.

What's the state got to do with the local jail? Not much, really, except that the state's capacity to house inmates directly impacts the number of inmates backed up in county jails. A state spokesman said the recent relief likely came from the prison system's use of the Emergency Powers Act. It allows the state to seek early release from certain nonviolent offenders up to a year before they would otherwise be eligible. When prisoners are released, it makes room for the state prisoners housed in county jails.

As Arkansas enters a new year, the spokesman said, the state's prison crowding will show up again. And thus, so will the issue at the county jails.

State corrections leaders say the solution is a combination of reforms in parole and probation as well as construction of more prison space, but the future of incarceration in Arkansas depends entirely on the work of the Arkansas General Assembly. State lawmakers will open their next regular session on Jan. 12.

We hope lawmakers enter the session ready to explore all options -- reasonable reform of penalties for some crimes, funding of new space, a more robust parole and probation system, and measures designed to give people released from prison a better shot at building a productive life after prison. And continued investment in education for lower-income Arkansans can make a significant long-term difference.

Nobody's making a case that Arkansas go easy on criminals. Rather, we suggest Arkansas' criminal justice system must work for the benefit of the state's residents. Overtaxing local facilities and releasing inmates in such a way that renders sentences almost meaningless doesn't.

Lawmakers are right to question whether building an expensive prison is the right move as long as they don't enter the session with their minds already made up. Any answer to Arkansas' crowded prison and jail situation will have to be multifaceted. Anyone looking for simple answers will be disappointed.