Construction Could Help Crowded Arkansas Prisons

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Officials hope that three construction projects will help reduce the strain on Arkansas’ overcrowded prison system.

The number of inmates in Arkansas grows by about 400 every year, with a recidivism rate of about 50 percent, according to officials. The state has about 13,925 inmates, including 543 who are being held in county jails because there is no room for them in state prisons.

There are three facilities currently under construction to address the increase of inmates, which will add approximately 1,400 beds to the state prison system. The department of corrections is seeking an estimated $259 million of general revenue for the 2007 fiscal year to help fund the facilities.

The department’s budget request includes funds to operate an 862-bed Ouachita River Correctional Facility Special Needs Unit being built at Malvern for mentally ill inmates. It would also help pay for operational costs for a 200-bed addition under construction at the McPherson Unit in Newport that will house female inmates.

In addition, the department would like to build a 300-bed minimum-security unit at the Cummins Unit and is asking for $4.2 million from the general improvement fund.

The money requested also includes funding for 482 new positions needed upon completion of the new facilities.

Some state officials are suggesting that some of the budget be used for transitional housing to help lower recidivism rates. They are upset about the perpetual rise in the prison population and would like to reduce it with new programs.

Stricter sentences that keep inmates incarcerated for longer periods of time have contributed to the strain on the system. One law requires some offenders to serve 70 percent of their sentences before becoming eligible for parole.

Critics claim that state officials who want to reduce prison populations should consider revising certain legislation governing sentence length.