Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Sick Prison Inmates May Get New Home

From State Sen. Mike Ross

Because of the growing number of elderly and sick inmates in state prisons, the state Board of Correction and Community Punishment is considering building a special unit to house them.

The Correction Department has a Diagnostic Unit at Pine Bluff, where sick inmates are treated and where incoming prisoners are diagnosed for any special needs. According to a prison official in charge of health services, the Diagnostic Unit is under pressure, because about 300 inmates require medical care.

The official said that if the board approved construction of a special facility for inmates with health problems, it should be large enough to house about 500 prisoners.

The department has a contract with a private company to provide health care for the more than 10,000 inmates in state custody.

Other options would be to contract with a private company to build and operate a prison unit for elderly and sick inmates. It would not be the first time a private company has taken over some prison operations in Arkansas. Two privately operated units are scheduled to open soon near Newport.

Another option would be to contract with other states to house inmates from Arkansas with special needs.

The director of the Correction Department reported to the board at its November meeting that the inmate population has increased to 10.399. About 800 are in county jails awaiting for space to become available in state prison units.

Overcrowding will continue to be a problem in state prisons because of the growth int the number of repeat offenders, the director said. Other criminal justice officials attributed overcrowding to an increase in parole revocations and state laws requiring inmates to serve at least 70 percent of their sentences before they become eligible for parole.

Inmates serving life sentences comprise about 11 percent of the inmate population. The board authorized an expansion of the boot camp and industrial program at Wrightsville to partially relieve overcrowding in other units.

The director of prisons also reported that 472 male inmates have been made eligible for release in the next 90 days to lessen overcrowding. The Board of Correction must invoke the Emergency Powers Act before they can be released.

The act authorizes the board to release non-violent offenders when prisons are at 98 percent of their capacity for more than two months.

Besides the two private units at Newport that are scheduled for completion early next year, an expansion of 400 beds at the Brickeys Unit in Lee County is set for completion next summer.

Another issue faced by state prisons is overtime pay due to officers. A legislative committee learned that the Correction Department owes about $6.5 million in wages to officers who have accumulated overtime pay over the past several years.

The department does not pay overtime unless an officer quits. In lieu of overtime, officers can take compensatory time off. This policy has resulted in a high turnover of personnel. The department hires about 2,200 correction officers.

The department and state budget officials are looking into ways to pay overtime to officers who accumulate large amounts during a year.