LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — When it comes to curbing violent crime there are a lot of opinions and ideas. Pulaski County officials think they may have a solution to the problem – or at the very least, something close to it.
"First of all, Arkansas ranks fourth in violent crime," Mark Whitmore, Chief Counsel for the Association of Arkansas Counties, said.
He explained that something must be done about the crime.
"I don't think that's the solution to all our problems, but I think that part of the system is inadequate, while we have 1.6 billion dollars, we ought to fix it," Pulaski County Judge, Barry Hyde, said.
Various county officials including Judge Hyde, North Little Rock Mayor Terry Hartwick, Little Rock Regional Chamber CEO Jay Chesshir, Director of the Arkansas Sheriff' Association Scott Bradley, and many others presented their call to action at the Association of Arkansas Counties building on Wednesday.
That call to action is for more than just prison beds, which is something they said will help cut down on violent offenders repeating their crimes.
"Every year, about how we need more prison space, but the excuse every year was that we couldn't afford it, we didn't have the money," Hyde said.
According to documents shared by those officials, a 2018 study showed that the Pulaski County jail had a "chronic overcrowding" problem.
That study estimates that 3,500 more beds are needed, and if they don't get them, state inmates will need to be transferred out to state prisons from the county.
Officials said that because of the Emergency Powers Act, violent offenders have been getting out early. They also added that some of them are only serving a fifth or sixth of their sentence.
"They release convicted felons, some of the violent felons early because they have to make room for another spot for somebody that just got convicted of a violent felony," Whitmore said.
Not everyone in attendance was on board with the plan, which included State Representative Fred Allen, (D) Little Rock.
"If we build a four-lane highway, put another two lanes, all we're gonna do is fill them up," Allen said. "So that's what's gonna happen with the prison system in the state of Arkansas, we'll just continue to fill them up."
As for his solution, he said the focus should be on programs already set in place.
"I think what we need to do, we need to look at programs that will, intervention and prevention programs that would keep us from having to build more prisons and jails," Allen said.
While it may not solve everything, he added that it would be a start.