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Sheriff says jail operating under strain during construction; 164 people were sleeping on mats on a peak day
Summary
Sheriff Cantrell told the County Services Committee that construction reduced minimum-security beds, the jail had fewer beds than people at times, staffing has improved but openings remain, and deputies responded rapidly to a campus hoax; sheriff also gave construction and COVID updates.
Sheriff Cantrell told the County Services Committee the county jail is operating under pressure while construction is underway and that staffing and bed capacity are improving but still constrained.
"We released 25 today so that number will be less tonight," Cantrell said when describing a recent midday count. "But we've also, with the construction going on ... we've lost 96 of our minimum security beds." He said the construction required moving detainees into the main housing pods.
Cantrell said the jail had 164 people sleeping on mats on the floor on a recent morning; the county uses three-inch sleeping mats that are about 74 inches long and 3 feet wide. The sheriff emphasized the mats are the same pads provided for bunks and said some detainees prefer sleeping on the floor rather than a top bunk.
The sheriff discussed staffing gains: the jail is down about 20 positions from full strength, an improvement over earlier shortfalls of 30–40 openings. He said hiring events have produced qualified applicants and another recruitment event was scheduled.
Cantrell also described the sheriff’s office response to a hoax active-shooter call at the University of Arkansas campus. "These calls came in at multiple locations around the campus ... within just minutes, Washington County Sheriff's Office had 35 deputies there," he said, adding that no one was injured.
The sheriff gave a construction update on several projects, including a remodeled lobby area with bullet-resistant glass and a courtroom expansion that will temporarily move some court sessions into the committee room. He said COVID-19 is not currently a concern at the jail; "Since September 10 was our last confirmed case of COVID," Cantrell said.
Cantrell also described ongoing population pressures from federal detainees at the facility: during the day he said the jail housed 77 U.S. Marshals prisoners and 14 immigration detainees; he said immigration detainees are typically moved out quickly to a federal processing facility.
Committee members raised follow-up questions about mattress type, public tours of the facility and how to track construction progress; Cantrell said the county website hosts a live weather camera with multiple construction views and welcomed visits.
No committee action was taken; the sheriff's report was received for informational purposes.
