Local News
The Saline County jail will expand to accommodate the increasing population
Benton, Arkansas – To keep up with its increasing population, Saline County is building a larger jail, which will enable the sheriff’s office to keep up community security.
The extension will add 82 more beds, expand the infirmary, and increase the facility’s size by 11,258 square feet.
Saline County Sheriff Rodney Wright stated, “We have been authorized to add 82 more beds to Saline County jail, which is much needed.”
Judge Matt Brumley of Saline County stated, “We have not had an expansion of this jail and bed space since 2010, which is 14.5 years ago, while our population has grown over 25,000.”
The expansion will cost $8.5 million, according to officials, and the funding will come from the county’s general funds account, which included $10 million from the American Rescue Plan Act.
The breakdown, according to Brumley, is $103,000 per bed, increasing the capacity from 234 to 316.
Saline County is a prosperous community, and as you are aware, public safety is the cornerstone of any successful community, Wright stated.
“We currently have about 40 state prisoners who were convicted in Saline County waiting to be transferred to a state prison,” Wright stated. “There’s no space for them to ascend.”
The beds will provide them with some “breathing space,” according to the judge and sheriff, but they won’t address the overpopulation that every jail in the country is facing.
“We simply don’t have the room to go after the criminals who are committing misdemeanor crimes, quality-of-life crimes, public intoxication, shoplifting, and other things like that,” Wright stated.
According to Wright, the jail extension will enable those offenses to carry the appropriate penalties that the law requires governments to adhere to. Additionally, he claims that it will lessen the number of repeat offenders.
“It must be very frustrating for the sheriff’s department to be trying to do their job and not have the correctional resource available,” Brumley said.
Brumley is hopeful that the eagerly awaited enlargement will assist in relieving the deputies.
“It’s the relief we need right now, even though it’s not where we should be,” Brumley stated.
Brumley is pleased with the county’s progress and is eager to see everything finished by October 2025, but he thinks more work needs to be done to further reduce the bed-to-citizens ratio.
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