Overcrowding in county jails across Arkansas continues to be a serious problem for sheriff’s across the state including here in Baxter County, according to Baxter County Sheriff John Montgomery. During a recent interview with KTLO, Classic Hits and The Boot News, the sheriff identified two issues as contributors to the problem. One is the incarceration of inmates with mental health issues and the other is the backlog created by overpopulation in the state prison system. This, the first of a two part series based on the sheriff’s interviews, will focus on the incarceration of those in need of mental health treatment.
Montgomery, the former president of the Arkansas Sheriff’s Association, says he and other sheriff’s share the problem of inmates who are obviously mentally ill or are not taking their medication being brought to their jails where the staff are not prepared to handle them.
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The sheriff cited a recent situation where an inmate, after professional evaluation, was identified as having mental health issues and transported to Little Rock for treatment.
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A solution does exist in the creation of emergency mental health crisis centers, according to Montgomery, who says he and other Arkansas sheriff’s have visited such a center in San Antonio, Texas.
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The emergency mental health crisis centers in Texas have been quite successful, according to Montgomery.
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Montgomery and other members of the Arkansas Sheriff’s Association have presented the mental health crisis centers to the state legislature for consideration. It was not acted on in this past legislative session and is up for consideration again when the legislature reconvenes next year.
The next segment in this series on county jail overpopulation will deal with the issue of the backlog created in the state prison system.
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