§ 12-41-503 - Management of local jail populations. - Arkansas Statutes

12-41-503. Management of local jail populations.

(a) County sheriffs and other keepers or administrators of jails within the State of Arkansas are responsible for managing the populations and operations of their respective facilities in compliance with the laws and the Arkansas Constitution and within the requirements of the United States Constitution.

(b) Neither a county sheriff nor another keeper or administrator of a jail shall refuse to accept any prisoner lawfully arrested or committed within the jurisdiction of the supporting agency of the jail except as necessary to limit prisoner population in compliance with subsection (a) of this section.

(c) (1) A county sheriff or his or her designee may determine if a convicted person sentenced to the county jail shall serve his or her sentence on electronic monitoring, on weekends, or by any other lawful alternative to continual detention in the county jail that rehabilitates the convicted person or benefits the county when this does not conflict with any court orders.

(2) If a county sheriff or his or her designee determines that a convicted person sentenced to the county jail shall serve his or her sentence on electronic monitoring, on weekends, or by any other lawful alternative to continual detention in the county jail that rehabilitates the convicted person or benefits the county, an agreement shall be entered into between the county sheriff or his or her designee and the convicted person outlining the conditions of the sentence.

(3) If the convicted person fails to follow the conditions of the agreement, the county sheriff or his or her designee may cancel the agreement and return the convicted person to the county jail by any lawful means necessary to serve the sentence.

(d) When more than one (1) legal jurisdiction, that is, counties or municipalities, share a common jail, the participating jurisdictions may enter into agreements to share the operational costs of the jail.

(e) When a shared jail is operated and a jurisdiction that is eligible to participate in the shared operation opts not to participate, then, in the event that the jurisdiction has prisoners committed to the shared jail, that jurisdiction may be required to pay fixed per diem charges, not to exceed actual costs, including capital costs, for each prisoner committed or housed in the jail.

(f) An agreement with an agency or a jurisdiction not eligible for participation in a shared jail operation project may be made for the housing of prisoners provided the charges assessed do not exceed the actual costs, including capital costs.

(g) Jails shall accept prisoners of the United States Government provided space and staffing are available and the delivering government agency agrees to pay a per diem charge not to exceed the actual costs, including capital costs.

(h) Nothing in this section prohibits any jurisdiction from entering into a contractual agreement with a private organization for the operation of a jail facility.