Benton County officials announced Friday that a federal hold on a $45 million grant has put the county’s jail‑expansion project on pause. The grant, which would fund a new housing pod for about 250 male felony inmates, was expected to be applied for after the county’s Justices of the Peace approved the request at Thursday’s Quorum Court meeting.
Safety concerns drive the expansion effort
Sheriff Shawn Holloway stressed that the current facility, with 669 beds, is regularly forced to accommodate 100 to 200 more inmates than it can safely hold. “It’s a safety issue for the inmates and for the deputies who work here,” he said, noting that some prisoners have been forced to sleep on the floor.
Holloway explained that the shortage forces the jail to make difficult release decisions each week, describing the process as a “catch and release” game with prosecutors and judges. “We’re playing the game ‘Who’s the least bad?’ because we know we’ve got things coming down the pipeline,” he added.
What the new pod would provide
The proposed addition would mirror the design of existing pods and be situated at the back of the jail. It would house roughly 250 male inmates charged with serious felonies such as murder, rape and aggravated assault, while lower‑level offenses like theft and DWI would remain in the existing facility.
Holloway also highlighted a troubling backlog in mental‑health evaluations, noting that some individuals have spent up to two years awaiting assessment. “Often they’re here longer waiting on a mental evaluation than they would have been if they had just pled guilty,” he said.
Community voices question the use of federal dollars
Sarah Moore, executive director of the Arkansas Justice Reform Coalition, warned that using federal money to expand the jail could run counter to voters’ wishes. In 2022, Benton County residents voted against raising the tax rate to fund a jail expansion.
Moore argued that simply adding more beds does not solve the underlying problem. “We could be releasing people safely back into the community with supports and not have people sleeping on the floor. Adding additional beds often just fills them up again,” she said.
She advocated for alternatives such as pre‑trial services, a practice dating back to the 1990s that provides release with support to help individuals navigate court obligations. Moore also raised concerns about the long‑term maintenance costs of a larger facility, asking whether the county could afford those expenses while also addressing infrastructure needs like bridges and roads.
Next steps
The county will wait for the federal government to reopen the grant process before submitting its application. In the meantime, Sheriff Holloway and local officials continue to monitor the safety implications of the current overcrowding and explore community‑based solutions that could reduce the need for additional jail space.
Both law‑enforcement leaders and reform advocates agree that public safety remains the top priority, even as they debate the best path forward for Benton County’s correctional system.
Original reporting: 40/29 / KHBS (NW Arkansas) — read the source article.
