FORT SMITH -- Sebastian County officials are asking Gov. Asa Hutchinson and the state Legislature to give the sheriff more money for holding convicted felons and parole violators who clog the county jail waiting for space in state prison to become available.
The county Quorum Court said in a resolution passed at its Tuesday meeting that it costs $54 a day to house a prisoner, but the Arkansas Department of Correction pays the county only $30 to hold its prisoners who can't be transferred to prison because of the lack of space.
The resolution also proposes the establishment of a long-term plan to address the jail crowding problem, and prison crowding and county reimbursement issues, and to form an interim study committee that would recommend solutions.
Copies of the resolution were sent last week to the governor's office, members of the western Arkansas legislative delegation and to state corrections officials.
The governor's office had not responded by Friday afternoon to an emailed request seeking comment about the prisoner compensation issue and the Quorum Court's resolution.
Sebastian County Sheriff Hobe Runion said the backup of the state's prisoners puts the burden on county taxpayers to pay the difference between what it costs the county to house the state's prisoners and what the state will pay.
By holding the state's prisoners, which the county must do by law, Runion said, "We're also taking away a bed that we could fill from somebody who was arrested here locally -- Greenwood or Barling or Fort Smith -- that would pay at least what it would cost to house them."
Sebastian County has adopted a solution that other counties also use: transferring some of Sebastian County's prison-bound inmates to other counties to let them wait for a prison bed there. Runion said it frees up a bed for local prisoners, although the $30 a day goes with the prisoner to the county that takes him in.
Jail records show Sebastian County has transferred 49 prison-bound inmates to other counties so far this year. It is sending prisoners to Carroll, Dallas, Greene, Newton, Pike and Ouachita counties.
The Quorum Court's resolution said 25 percent to 35 percent of Sebastian County's 356 jail beds are occupied by sentenced felons waiting for prison beds or by parole violators waiting to have their cases processed.
An old problem, the backup of state prisoners caused the county jail's average daily population to balloon to 405 last year, 454 in 2017 and 447 in 2016.
County Judge David Hudson told Quorum Court members that the county has been involved in discussions with the state over the criminal justice system for the past 18 months. The latest resolution was created to address those issues, he said.
Over the past few years, county officials have talked about how to reduce jail crowding. Suggestions included expanding the jail at a cost of $12 million, and renovating the sheriff's office for more jail space and moving the sheriff's headquarters to another location. The county has shelved those ideas and has hired a team of experts to assess the county's criminal justice system needs.
"Sebastian County elected officials understand that the county cannot build a solution to the crowded jail," a portion of a county jail facility mission statement said.
The Quorum Court established a criminal justice coordinating committee by ordinance in August 2017 to seek solutions to reduce the jail population and improve the criminal justice system. It is composed of judges, prosecutors, public defenders, law enforcement, parole officials, elected officials and others.
The committee has come up with several solutions, such as drug, veterans and soon mental illness courts; a crisis stabilization unit; alternative sentencing and diversion programs; special accelerated court dockets; electronic monitoring and signature bonds for non-violent felony suspects.
"There has been a lot of creative solutions, but there's a lot more yet to be done," said state Sen. Mat Pitsch, R-Fort Smith. Pitsch has been involved in some of the discussions and applauded county officials for their work that has resulted in a drop in jail population.
With the new measures and the transfer of state prisoners to other counties, the jail population was at 335 on Tuesday when Quorum Court members met.
Runion said the reduced population has allowed some long-needed maintenance work to be done. He said because the lower population provided enough space to move prisoners around, workers were able to paint three cell blocks for the first time since 2012.
The lower population has made the jail safer for inmates and jailers, Runion said, reducing the number of fights between inmates and assaults on jailers.
It also has made for a better work environment. Runion said the number of new hires is down because they are not quitting after a week or two on the job.
State Desk on 03/24/2019