FORT SMITH -- A special study delving into the criminal justice system and jail in Sebastian County will carry over into next year.
Sebastian County Judge David Hudson provided the county Quorum Court an update on an ongoing criminal justice system and jail needs assessment during its meeting Sept. 17. In the executive report he presented at the meeting, Hudson said the second on-site visit for the team carrying out the study -- which is composed of TreanorHL, Studio 6 Architects and Mark Goldman and Associates -- had been canceled. Instead of taking place Oct. 14-18, the visit is planned for Nov. 4-8.
Hudson said on Sept. 18 that he made the decision to cancel the October visit in working with the consultants. This was in consideration of how much time had been spent on the study at that point and to give the consultants time to work through and evaluate all the information and data they have collected on county operations. The county entered the study in February.
Another factor in this decision, Hudson said, was the number of district and circuit court judge positions that are going to be on the ballot in the March 3 election.
"There's three circuit judges and three district judges on the ballot, and those are all key decision-makers that we need engage in and stay engaged with as this study moves forward, so that would be another reason to extend the time frame for this project into next year," Hudson said.
The target dates for a third on-site visit and final report presentation by the consultants are now later in March after the March 3 election or in early April, Hudson said in his report. Hudson said it was originally intended for this visit to be held this year.
In his report, Hudson said the team's first on-site visit to Fort Smith took place Aug. 26-30. The consultants briefed the Quorum Court and others during a special meeting Aug. 26 on their approach to the project, as well as its status at that point. This was followed by them meeting and gathering information from a variety of different parties throughout the week, such as the Sebastian County sheriff, jail administrative staff, prosecuting attorney, public defender and many others.
ASSESSMENT DETAILS
The criminal justice system and jail needs assessment is a justice systems evaluation of the county's policies, procedures and programs, as well as how it operates, Hudson said. This includes looking at the county's specialty courts and procedures on subjects such as arrest policies from law enforcement agencies and those pertaining to how the county processes different types of cases through the court system and how the county utilizes current alternatives to placing people in jail. One such alternative is the Sebastian County Crisis Stabilization Unit, which opened in 2018 as a way to divert those with mental illnesses from the jail.
Hudson said this is all being done with the understanding that the county sheriff does not and cannot control the population of the jail.
"He's a single decision-maker, and there's numerous others that determine who's arrested and who's in that jail," Hudson said. "So looking at the entire justice system and its impact on the jail is part of that, plus introducing into our review process the consideration of best practices that have proven successful in other jurisdictions in other states that would assist us in helping manage our jail population while maintaining public safety."
The jail needs assessment part of the study, Hudson said, includes looking at not just the physical jail, but also how the facility is staffed, how its operated, and what programs are implemented there. This isa in addition to, among other aspects, considering how any aspect of jail operations can be improved or modified.
The study was initiated with a mission statement that was approved by both the Quorum Court and the Sebastian County Criminal Justice Coordinating Committee, according to Hudson. This statement acknowledges that building a larger jail is not the sole solution to the crowded facility without ongoing engagement of the committee to look at alternatives and other best practices that could be implemented on a regular basis.
POPULATION PROBLEM
Hudson said the Sebastian County jail was built in 1994 with a capacity for 260 adults. It was expanded in 2007 to hold 356 adults.
One aspect of the presentation the consultants gave on Aug. 26, a copy of which was provided by the Sebastian County judge's office, was the inmate population at the jail. While the average daily population at the facility remained below its expanded capacity from 2011 to 2012, it exceeded this mark in 2013 and rose until it reached 454 in 2017. It went down afterward, with 405 being the average in 2018 and 371 the average from Jan. 1-Aug. 16 this year, but this is still above capacity.
Maj. John Miller of the Sebastian County sheriff's office said the jail had a population of 348 inmates as of 2:04 p.m. Friday.
State Desk on 09/30/2019