Washington County Jail Inmate Mental Health

Former Judge David Stewart saw several of the same people in and out of court during his time as Judge, including one person, a homeless alcoholic, who had been brought in 104 times, he said.

Mental health and addiction problems have increased in jail systems in the recent years. Among jail inmates, 44 percent had been told in the past that they had a mental health disorder, according to a 2017 report by the Bureau of Justice Statistics.

Washington County Jail Officials are seeing the effects of this increase in their facility, Sheriff Tim Helder said. 

“Most crime that results in somebody being put in jail, underlying it all, is an emotional or mental issue, and, or an addiction that leads to whatever the crime may be,” Stewart said. 

A fourth of arrestees have experienced mental health problems and three-fourths of these individuals have been diagnosed by a psychologist or physician, according to a 2008 report done by the University of Arkansas on arrestee drug and alcohol use in Washington County. 

When people are first brought in, they are checked for any medical problems at booking. However, problems with mental health and addiction are more difficult to determine and usually show up later in the jail period, Stewart said. 

“An addict will go to the ends of the earth to keep their habit fit. It’s amazing at how diligent the jail has to be,” Stewart said. 

All visitation and mail reading at the Washington County Jail facility is done over a kiosk. The only exception being legal mail, Cpl. Tim Cobb said. 

In just the past week, there’s been false legal mail that’s come in with drugs, he said. 

All searches done at booking are non-invasive, Cobb said. Those types of searches, along with cavity searches, have to be done through medical staff. 

“We have a high population within the jail who have issues, and that’s based on my experience,” Cobb said. 

Cobb has seen four searches where a male had lost drugs out of their rectum when asked to squat, he said. 

Seventy-one percent of arrestees that have ever been admitted into the Washington County Jail have also stayed in a mental health facility in the same year, according to the 2008 report by the University of Arkansas.

A lot of times, responsibility for dealing with people with mental health illnesses is put on local jails, according to the report. 

“What we’ve done in this country often, is leave the crisis in the hands of law enforcement, and that’s unfair,” Judge Casey Jones said in an interview. 

Inmates say they will harm themselves frequently, which is taken very seriously, Cobb said. Officials are told to contact the medical or social worker upon suspicion of any problems. 

“Ninety percent of the time, we’re absolutely right,” he said. 

Officials use the term “suicide watch” for individuals who could potentially harm themselves. They are checked on every 15 minutes, Helder said.

The facility has a contract service with Cares Correctional. Medical staff is on site 24/7 and, a doctor comes in at least once a day. A full time social worker from the Ozark Guidance Center is also available to talk to if they are having problems, Captain Alan Johnson said. 

Officers are trained on conflict resolution for those who are mentally ill. They are also able to determine if someone needs to be apart of the Northwest Arkansas Crisis Stabilization Unit (CSU), a program that Washington County was fourth in the state to be a part of, Helder said.

CSU is a program that offers an alternative to jail time for those with mental-health problems, according to the Washington County Website. 

“You do see people with addiction problems, and they become repeat customers,” Jones said. 

In Arkansas, someone can be declared not guilty by reason of mental disease, this counts as an affirmative defense, but it is rarely raised, he said. 

He can make a suggestion for an individual to go see a professional, but the problem with that is that a lot of times resources on their end are limited, he said. 

Another option is for the offender is to be sentenced to Drug and Workforce Diversion Court, he said.

The Drug and Workforce Diversion Court is an alternative for minimum risk offenders who could potentially be rehabilitated, according to the Washington County website. 

“We’ve gotta get out of the business of incarcerating people because they are sick,” Helder said. 

Even with the precautions taken, there are still instances where drugs get into the jail and individuals take their lives. 

Most of the cases from which you have a problem in the jail come from lack of supervision, Stewart said. 

Ways to improve the system are by hiring the right people, training them accurately, and paying our officers more to make sure that mistakes are minimized on both ends, Stewart said. 

“We recognize that it’s an issue,” Helder said. “If someone is truly bent on doing harm to themselves, they’ll do it.”