TEXARKANA — The Miller County jail, plagued last year by security and contraband problems, has won praise from the state panel that reviews detention facilities.
The Arkansas Criminal Detention Facilities Review Committee has removed the jail from probation because of its turnaround under new Sheriff Ron Stovall.
Stovall took office Jan. 1 after a year in which about a dozen inmates escaped and a number of guards were fired for having sex with inmates, smuggling in contraband or other offenses.
In a surprise January inspection, law officers learned that inmates were using the jail attic to store all sorts of banned items, including mobile phones, a cordless drill and other tools, jail-brewed liquor, rope and other items.
Other problems in recent years included three escapes by the same man, two of them occurring in 2008.
On Tuesday night, Stovall provided the Miller County Quorum Court with the jail panel's eight-page report on the county lockup. The state review panel put the jail on probation in February, a step that could have led to penalties or possibly closing of the jail.
The committee re-inspected the jail Aug. 13 and removed it from probation and from the re-inspection list.
"This facility has made remarkable changes since the inspection in February. The sheriff and staff are to be commended for all their efforts," the committee report says.
Stovall is planning $1.3 million in upgrades to make the facility more secure.
The planned upgrades include a video-camera visitation system, a security camera system, a new console to operate the jail doors and electronic systems. There's also a plan to shift the location of women's cells to allow the jail to house 40 maximum-security prisoners.