State OKs $1 satellite-lockup deal

Wrightsville unit to ease crowding at Pulaski County jail

State inmates who had been housed at the Pulaski County jail in Little Rock arrive Monday at a nearby satellite building the state Department of Correction is leasing to relieve crowded conditions.
State inmates who had been housed at the Pulaski County jail in Little Rock arrive Monday at a nearby satellite building the state Department of Correction is leasing to relieve crowded conditions.

The state Board of Corrections unanimously approved a contract to house state prisoners in an unused Pulaski County satellite facility during a Monday morning conference call.

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Pulaski County and the state Department of Correction entered into a $1 contract for a year as part of an ongoing effort to reduce crowded conditions at county jails.

The Correction Department is moving prisoners incrementally: About 50 state inmates housed in county jails Monday afternoon were scheduled to move to the new facility, which will now be called the Wrightsville Satellite Unit, Correction Department spokesman Shea Wilson said.

The department hopes to transfer 200 prisoners by the end of the week and another 50 after that for a total of 250.

Under the contract, 50 percent of the state inmates moving must come from the Pulaski County jail.

"Right now, we're just looking to get those beds filled as quickly as we can," Wilson said. "We are focused on getting that facility up and running."

Earlier this month, the Correction Department received $6.3 million from the state Legislature to open up facilities across the state that would accommodate state prisoners and relieve county jails of some of the department's backlog of more than 2,000 people. The money is designated to open 604 beds to relieve county jails of the same number of state inmates.

On Monday, the Pulaski County jail was holding 450 state inmates -- more than a third of its 1,176-prisoner population. For the second time this year, the jail has been "closed" since July 1 to most nonviolent, nonfelony offenders because of overcrowding.

Pulaski County jail officials put its official capacity at 1,210 in its 1,120-bed building off Roosevelt Road in Little Rock.

The jail previously "closed" for 41 days from April 29 to June 9.

Lt. Carl Minden of the Pulaski County sheriff's office said if state prisoners are moved according to plan, the Pulaski County jail could start accepting more inmates this week.

"It's a good thing for us," Minden said. "It's going to save us money and space."

The satellite facility that had served as the jail's workforce center sat vacant for more than a year while the jail paid for its maintenance and electricity.

State Desk on 07/22/2014

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