Reduce incarceration with pretrial services

I attended last week's meeting of the Arkansas Senate and House committees on City, County, and Local Affairs in Rogers. The proposed 3,000-bed prison in Franklin County dominated the discussion.

All speakers acknowledged the large number of people in county jails waiting for state prison beds. In Washington County, that number was 165 as of Aug. 20 (out of total jail population of 721). But we have an even greater number of pretrial people -- 402 as of Aug. 20 -- who are jailed because they cannot afford bail. Most are accused of minor, nonviolent offenses. They are not being held for public safety, but because they are too poor to buy their freedom. Remember, if a judicial officer sets a bond, that means he or she has determined the individua

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