In the early 2000s, then-Washington County Sheriff Steve Whitmill worried his agency would face litigation over jail overcrowding.
Back then, the 240-bed county jail was on College Avenue. In 2001, the jail population had set a record at just above 300.
The choices then were to expand the College Avenue facility by adding about 260 beds, or to build on county-owned acreage in south Fayetteville an all-new facility for 540 inmates. The latter option provided plenty of room for future expansion, which consultants said Washington County would need in 15 years.
Back then, the public was ready to pay for a new jail through a sales tax. Today? It's certainly proven a harder sell to today's county leadership, and that might reflect resistance that could be expected from the public. But the county is right back with inmates sleeping on the floor, routinely exceeding capacity.
Critics of expansion say the days of mass incarceration are past. There are better approaches, they say, than spending $38 million to warehouse 600 more people.
Last week, a visit here at my office in Fayetteville reflected why expanding the jail isn't as simple an issue as it was nearly 20 years ago. Republican Justice of the Peace Patrick Deakins of Springdale joined the Rev. Clint Schnekloth to visit with me about alternatives they believe have the potential to change people's lives for the better, reducing or eliminating their jail time.
I think it's safe to say Deakins approaches things from a conservative point of view. Conversely, I'd put Pastor Schnekloth's perspective much farther left. They say they've found common ground in searching for ways to reduce demand on the jail Washington County now operates so a multi-million dollar expansion won't be necessary.
Politics, as they say, does make for strange bedfellows. But it's also refreshing to see people of such starkly different political persuasions talking with, not at, each other.
Schnekloth and others suggest leadership in developing alternative sentencing and programs that build skills and address addictions will produce better long-term results than jailing people. Deakins, as a county official, is interested in whether it's a more cost-effective approach.
One notion Deakins likes: Reclaiming the old Washington County jail on College Avenue for additional inmate space rather than building new space. Since 2007, the old jail has been leased for $1 a year by the Arkansas Department of Community Correction as one of agency's two state facilities for women. The other is in West Memphis.
About 100 women convicted of nonviolent, nonsexual crimes serve their state sentences in Fayetteville, where programs are designed to connect them with their families, teach them life skills, treat substance abuse, counsel them on anger management and decision-making and other similar efforts. The facility's recidivism rate, 24.7 percent, is the lowest of all correction facilities in Arkansas, according to agency spokeswoman Dina Tyler.
Washington County's 20-year lease with the state allows the county to reclaim the property on nine months' notice, but requires reimbursement for improvements the state agency has made. Tyler said that figure is in the ballpark of $1 million.
"We would hate to lose it up there," Tyler said of the Northwest Arkansas center. "Community correction centers are successful, and that one up there has been very successful."
Tyler said its success is tied to a strong base of volunteer support coming from organizations in the community. "It's a good relationship in Fayetteville," she said.
Washington County has asked for details from the state as it weights its options for the old jail. As they evaluate the jail's overcrowding, it's ironic one solution might be to evict a state program that's successfully doing exactly the kinds of education, treatment and training local advocates say they want for county inmates.
Commentary on 11/24/2019