The Pulaski County jail will switch to a new method of dividing inmates by June, recognizing people for good behavior with increased privileges.
"Right now, the way it kind of works is we have the stick without the carrot," Chief Deputy of Detention Charles Hendricks said, explaining that the current system doesn't allow inmates to earn rewards.
The new system will separate inmates into four categories. Every person who enters the jail will start at level one, Hendricks said. Level-one inmates will still be physically separated based on their past histories, including their behavior, education and records.
Under the new system, officers will collect more information about inmates to have a larger base of data for the jail.
After 30 days, if the inmates have committed no major infractions and fewer than four minor infractions, they will move up to level two. The same will hold true for level-two inmates who move up to level three. Level-three inmates will be required to stay in level three for 60 days and have no major infractions and fewer than five minor infractions.
Hendricks said that at level four, inmates will have the most opportunities for activities, purchases in the commissary and pillows.
"In general, it's simply to allow us to reward good behavior," Hendricks said.
This differs from the current system, where level one is the best and level four is the worst. Now all inmates come in at level three but are processed to either two or four within 24 hours. They move to levels two or four based on a variety of aspects about their histories. Inmates may only move to level one if they agree to work as trustees, where they do jobs such as cooking and cleaning at the jail.
Hendricks said the jail, the largest in the state, is at a funded capacity of 1,210 people.
Administrators point to this sort of method as a way to reduce the number of fights in jails. Jail administrators across the state, both large and small, are changing their mindsets to encourage better behavior from inmates and reduce recidivism.
The Sevier County jail, which can hold up to 74 inmates, uses a similar practice, and Sheriff Robert Gentry said the technique works to reduce fighting and also damage to jails.
'PREDATOR FROM PREY'
Sevier County separates inmates into minimum, medium and maximum categories based on their histories. Previously, the jail only housed people by their charges, for example dividing felony charges from misdemeanors. Now the jail physically separates groups to avoid conflict.
"I use the example (of) a 19-year-old that's had a little too much to drink or whatever," Gentry said about the old classification system. "He gets put in jail. Well, he'd go to the misdemeanor pod. And then you take the guy who's been in prison three times, done about 30 years in lock-up and he's out, no driver's license, fails to go to court, gets arrested, and he gets put in the misdemeanor pod with this same kid. He's use to running the pod, running the floor or whatever, and you've got the kid who's full of attitude. So you end up with fights."
Gentry said that the new system also allows the jail to fully utilize its space. Previously the Sevier County jail had to devote an entire section to felons. Now, felons who do not have a history of violence are eligible to stay in the area for minimum-risk inmates.
The system keeps people who have been charged with a misdemeanor but have violent pasts, like the example Gentry gave, from interacting with first-time offenders.
"We're separating the predator from the prey," Gentry said.
Michelle Connors, the Pulaski County classification specialist, said dividing inmates in these manners gives jail officials more credibility in stating why inmates are placed in certain areas because it's backed by specific reasoning for categorizing people in jail.
PERKS AND SAVINGS
The procedure Sevier County uses, combined with a substance abuse program, has saved the jail approximately $30,000 since officials instituted the changes in 2017, Gentry said.
Gentry said that because dangerous inmates are removed from inmates with fewer instances of violent histories, the latter are under less stress and less prone to act out in vandalism.
Pulaski County was already physically dividing inmates based on similar factors.
Sevier County also allows minimum-ranking inmates to attend services and programs -- like the substance abuse education program, Residential Substance Abuse Treatment. The jail reassesses the ranking it assigns each inmate every 45 days, so this also gives them an incentive for good behavior, working similarly to how the Pulaski County system will.
Because inmates in minimum security want to continue attending services, and higher-security inmates want the opportunity to begin services, Jail Administrator Chris Wolcott said people in the jail tend to behave better than they did before switching to this system.
Gentry and Wolcott, along with other officials they work with in Sevier County, spoke about switching to the current classification system and adding the substance abuse program at a three-day class last week for jail officials. Faulkner County hosted the class in Conway to provide a central location for the representatives from 16 Arkansas jails, including Pulaski County, to attend.
The goal of the class was to inform additional counties about the method of separating inmates and about its Residential Substance Abuse Treatment program in the hopes of reducing recidivism throughout the state, Gentry said.
KICKING THE HABITS
Chassitie Jackson, the Randolph County jail administrator, said it physically separate inmates by their charges. But because the jail is undergoing an expansion that will triple its size, she's considering switching to the Sevier County classification system.
Capt. Chad Cole of the Carroll County sheriff's office, said his county has used a system like Sevier County's for the past four to five years and thinks the approach works. He attended the class to update his knowledge of the idea.
The Residential Substance Abuse Treatment program is a federal program that requires inmates to attend four classes a week, learning how to beat their addictions.
Wolcott said it's both of these changes that have helped the jail. Community involvement has made the substance abuse program successful. Volunteers come into the jail to offer classes and to organize the program's graduation.
Inmates graduate after roughly 90 days in jail and again after they complete their after-jail part of the program, which is an additional nine months, Gentry said.
Hattie Vance, who was convicted of producing methamphetamine in Sevier County, now teaches Celebrate Recovery, a Christian-based, addiction-recovery program. About 40 people generally attend the program. Vance said Celebrate Recovery allows the inmates to learn about Jesus and gives them hope.
"They don't have to keep living this same dysfunction over and over," she said.
She said the jail initiatives change inmates for the better. Gentry said the same.
"My 20-plus years in law enforcement, I finally feel like I'm doing something that means something," Gentry said.
Wolcott said the substance abuse program has changed the officers' view of the inmates and made them more compassionate.
"I don't think you have any children who, when they look up at their mother and daddy, says 'when I grow up I want to be an addict,'" Wolcott said. "They're that way because they made a bad choice in high school, or they were caught in a vehicle accident and got hooked on prescription drugs, or they was raised in a family where that was the norm and they didn't know any difference. And these are also a lot of individuals who have always been told they're not worth anything."
Metro on 04/22/2019