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Arkansas corrections capacity, overcrowding and county budget impacts outlined to joint committee
Summary
Arkansas Department of Corrections officials and county law-enforcement leaders told a joint Senate and House committee that staffing shortages and holding inmates for other agencies have increased overcrowding, straining county budgets and limiting local capacity to execute warrants. No votes were taken.
Lindsay Wallace, Secretary of the Arkansas Department of Corrections, told the joint Senate and House Committees on City, County, and Local Affairs on Aug. 13, 2025, in Rogers that the department faces capacity and staffing needs. Tawnie Rowell, Chief Legal Counsel for the Department of Corrections, and Dexter Payne, Director of the Division of Correction, discussed percentages of incarcerated individuals by offense type, plans for facility development and expansion, and the costs of housing inmates. Wendy Ware, senior vice president for justice services at CGL Companies, presented long-term trends in the state prison population.
Sheriffs from multiple counties testified about the operational impacts. Hobe Runion, Sheriff of Sebastian County; Jay Cantrell, Sheriff of Washington County; John Staley, Sheriff of Lonoke County; and Shawn Holloway, Sheriff of Benton County said staffing shortages and the practice of holding inmates for other agencies are contributing to jail overcrowding and reducing counties' capacity to manage criminal cases in their jurisdictions.
County Judges Rusty McMillon of Greene County, Barry Moehring of Benton County, Troy Tucker of Clark County and Matt Brumley of Saline County described fiscal pressure from overcrowding, saying increased detention costs have affected county budgets and constrained their ability to execute warrants and perform other legal or law-enforcement duties.
The transcript records these substantive claims and the presenters' roles but does not supply the numeric percentages, specific cost figures, or timelines for proposed facility development discussed in the session. The meeting record does not show any formal motion, directive, or vote taken on DOC operations, facility expansion, or county funding during the session. The committee adjourned at 7:00 p.m.
