Sebastian County to assess crowded-jail options

FORT SMITH -- Sebastian County officials are looking at long-term and short-term measures in hopes of finding a remedy to chronic crowding in the county jail.

County Judge David Hudson is preparing to send out requests for qualifications to firms that could perform an in-depth assessment of the county's jail needs.

The Quorum Court met Tuesday and voted to authorize Hudson to search for and hire the jail planner. Sheriff Bill Hollenbeck said he supported hiring the planner and doing the long-term study, but he worries that such a course could take as long as three years before construction on any improvements begins.

Meanwhile, Hollenbeck is stuffing 400 or more prisoners into a jail built to hold 356, which makes for unsafe conditions for jailers and inmates, he said. He also is transferring to at least six other counties convicted inmates who are waiting for state prison space to become available.

He said he uses jailers on a daily basis to transport prisoners all over the state, burning gas, mounting wear and tear on vehicles and building up overtime.

"We're working hard to do what needs to be done to manage the jail population," Hollenbeck said.

At the same time, a criminal justice coordinating committee composed of judges, law enforcement and county officials, is implementing measures to decrease the jail population through such things as signature bonds for Class C and D felonies, drug court, veterans court and possibly a mental health court and alternative sentencing.

Hudson said he hopes the needs-assessment study will look at such things as jail operations, sheriff's office policies and the effects the county's many diversion programs have had on the jail population and what other steps may need to be taken.

"That's the level of specifically focused analysis I hope we can get assistance with," he said.

He also wants to set up a community advisory committee to get the public involved with the jail planning process to reduce crowding. More public engagement also could foster support for a possible tax to finance improvements.

"Communities that have attempted to gain voter approval for a new jail project and have not been successful will often form the committee before the start of the needs assessment," Hudson wrote in an April 6 memorandum to Quorum Court members.

While voting for Hudson's jail planner recommendation, Quorum Court members did not abandon a project they adopted last year.

The project is to move the sheriff's office from its space across the street from the jail to the county's emergency operations center on the south edge of Fort Smith at Zero Street and Massard Road. It would cost less than $1 million to renovate the center to accommodate the sheriff's office.

The vacated sheriff's office downtown would then be renovated to hold up to 100 minimum security inmates. Hudson said the space could be used to hold city misdemeanor prisoners who the county could charge $54 a day to house. That could generate enough money to pay increased operating expenses.

The county has enough money to renovate the sheriff's office for the additional inmate space. But county officials haven't been able to find a source of money to operate a larger jail.

The additional inmate capacity, which a consultant recommended earlier this year, would require 14 additional jail deputies and cost an estimated $676,000 a year. The jail at the current staffing level is four deputies short, which would cost $193,000 to fill, Hudson said.

Officials have not been able to find the extra money in the county's budget.

State Desk on 04/14/2018

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