Director’s


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the county level, those awaiting transfer to state prisons, increased our numbers as the state prison system filled to capacity. Two unrelated things helped ease some of the problem.


First, a review and retooling of inmate transfer processing relieved pressure on the system of county jails.


Secondly, ACT 570 of the 2011 General Assembly reduced the number of persons being sentenced to the state prison system.


At that time, the number of state prisoners in county jails dropped dramatically, from approximately 1,800 to about 300-400 as recently as last spring.


Following the parole violator debacle (outlined on page 28) the numbers began to surge back up, now hitting the 2,900 mark and threaten- ing to punch through 3,000 in just a few days. In the 2014 Fiscal Legisla- tive Session the Arkansas Legislature debated adding a 1,000 bed prison to the state system. What is con- cerning for counties is that a recent PEW Charitable Trust study on the Arkansas corrections system predicted that the growth in number of first time felonious offenders the state could expect would be about 350 per year. In other words, in the three years it would take to build and open this new prison the additional 350 per year would immediately exceed new bed-space.


risis is defined as a condition of instability or danger, as in social, economic, political, or international affairs, leading to decisive change. Tis is the level at which our county sheriffs and jail administra- tors now find themselves...in crisis mode.


“C


Many of our jails are near or above capacity right now. To our sheriffs the real crisis is that they have to turn away offenders who need to be locked up in their jails, simply because these parole violators we are holding for the state are clogging up the system – and the state does not have room at their facilities to hold them.


At some point a county arrestee, who should be in jail, will be turned


away from the jail due to overcrowding related to this issue. Tis person might commit a violent crime and your sheriff will have done absolutely everything in his or her power to lock them up, but to no avail. Tis is part “A” of this two-part crisis.


Each year the Association of Arkansas Counties, in conjunction with the Division of Legislative Audit and 15 different rotating coun- ties, puts together an average daily cost that we incur to hold state inmates in our county jails. Tis amount is high and rising. Te last few years’ reports show this average cost to be in the neighborhood of $45-$50 per day, per prisoner. Te cost is made up of depreciating capital outlay, insurance, transports, gas, food, personnel, computer systems and medical costs, among other things. Housing inmates is quickly becoming the black hole of county budgets, where money disappears never to be seen again.


Te good news is that the state pays us to house most of their pris-


oners. We do not get reimbursed for those prisoners that have been adjudicated and sentenced (those who become state prisoners after sentencing). Tey are state prisoners immediately upon sentencing, but


8 ”


in Arkansas Code (A.C.A. 12-27-114) we are actually responsible for certain medical costs associated with those prisoners for 30 days follow- ing adjudication…after that the state picks up the tab.


Te bad news is for all those prisoners which they do pay for our compensation from the state is…are you sitting down…$28 per day. Tat’s correct, for each state prisoner we hold we conservatively lose $17 per day, per prisoner. Tis amount was set at $25 per day in 1991 and increased to $28 per day in 2001 (at which time transportation of the inmate became the county responsibility).


When the state backup in county jails is low, say 400, our counties


lose around $17 per day times these 400 inmates, or $6,800 per day. But in these crisis times, like now, we lose $17 times 2,900 inmates, or $49,300 per day across the state.


Tat means that the total shift in county revenue to pay for state inmates during this crisis is conser- vatively estimated to be $18 million dollars per year! Our millages, our sales taxes, our jails are supplement- ing state government at $18 million dollars per year…conservatively, should this rate of backup continue.


One more statistic — the Vera


Institute of Justice reports that our Department of Correction (DOC) spent approximately $66.83 per day for prisoners within the DOC system in 2010 versus the $28.00 per day they pay counties to house their inmates. What this does is puts pres- sure on the state to house inmates more cheaply with us – why double


bunk state beds when they can more cheaply do it at a county jail? In turn, we will build jails containing bed numbers based on erratic


or volatile needs. We cannot project future needs based on rates of state prisoners in our jails which jump from year to year by swings of 2,000 prisoners. Tere needs to be a leveling out of state needs for county facilities else county tax monies will be inefficiently spent.


Many Arkansas counties are about to enter an area of desperate fi- nancial need. Stagnant turnback, stagnant jail reimbursement and state prisoners overcrowding our jails are beginning to form the perfect storm for our state. So much county money is being spent now on county jails that other aspects of county government in Arkansas have begun to break down.


Tis is not a time for us to be ambivalent – instead I ask each of you to spend time with your legislators to let them know about this crisis in your county. Each of you have a story to tell regarding the lack of funding for these state mandated services, and it is incumbent on all of us to be ready for the coming session regarding what is now becoming a statewide county crisis.


COUNTY LINES, WINTER 2014


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