Gov. Hutchinson expands high-risk offender Community Corrections monitoring program
April 18-24, 2022
By The Daily Record Staff
At an April 5 media briefing at the State Capitol, Gov. Asa Hutchinson announced an expansion of the state’s Intensive Supervision Program (ISP) to monitor high-risk offenders. Hutchinson said he noted that the recent uptick in violent crime is an issue that local authorities must deal with but affirmed that the state also has a few steps they can take to help.
Governor Hutchinson announced the expansion of the monitoring program based on the recommendations of Secretary Solomon Graves and the Division of Community Corrections, which reinstated the ISP in 2017 following the Power Ultra Lounge shooting in Little Rock. The program currently includes four officers who monitor offenders in Pulaski County.
“There is a segment of our parole population that is high risk, they need a closer level of contact by our officers,” Secretary Graves said. “This ISP program will do that not just in Pulaski County, but in our communities that border our larger metropolitan areas.”
This new expansion will add 10 ISP officers to the program which will cover five counties including Lonoke, Jefferson, Faulkner, Saline and Pulaski. The goal of the program is to provide a higher level of support and supervision to those who pose a higher risk of violent crimes.
“These are those that have spent time in prison released on parole, that are trying to get a second start in life, and we want to be able to help them to do that,” Gov. Hutchinson said. “But you have an element of those who pose a greater risk than others and that is the design of the ISP program that focuses on high-risk offenders.”
The program expansion will cost $1,091,585 to start the expansion, and then have an ongoing cost of $820,395 a year. Both costs will need approval from the General Assembly, and the Governor is hopeful they will support this expansion.
The expansion of the correction program comes over one month after Hutchinson signed a bill that grants one-time stipends of up to $5,000 to police,probation and parole officers, and a second bill that increases the salary for Arkansas state troopers and other certified law enforcement officers of the Department of Public Safety.
Over the past seven years, Arkansas has improved its parole and probation system, mandated crisis-intervention training for officers, and upgraded the state’s 911 system. “Our support for law enforcement did not begin with this session, but we certainly put an exclamation point on it this time,” Hutchinson said.
Senate Bill (SB) 103 grants a one-time stipend of $5,000 to full-time certified city and county law enforcement officers and full-time certified state Department of Corrections probation and parole officers. The bill gives a one-time stipend of $2,000 to full-time certified state troopers and other certified law enforcement officers of the Department of Public Safety.
House Bill 1026 (HB1206) increases the average annual starting salary for state troopers from $42,357 to $54,000.
“That is an increase of more than $11,000 in starting salary for our state troopers,” the Governor said. “That will move us from seventh in our region for starting salaries to second in our region.”
Pay for troopers first class will increase from $53,035 to $60,006. The average annual salary for corporals will increase from $63,612 to $71,237; sergeants’ pay will increase from $74,319 to $84,439. The average annual salary for lieutenants will increase from $84,229 to $94,076; captains from $94,277 to $105,166 and majors from $107,541 to $116,772.
HB1206 also funds salaries for five more forensic positions so that the Arkansas Crime Lab can complete testing of sexual assault kits within 60 days as required by Act 839 of 2019.
Gov. Hutchinson also signed Senate Bill 101, which amends the Revenue Stabilization law in part to fund the increase in state troopers’ salaries. The bill also funds an increase in the Department of Corrections budget to bump the reimbursements to county jails from $32 per day to $40 per day. SB101 also includes money to fund a prison construction project at Calico Rock, improvements at the schools for the deaf and blind and the Northwest Arkansas Veterans Home.
SB101 provides $10 million for body cameras, bullet-proof vests and other equipment “that will make our officers safer and build community confidence in their professionalism.”
The new laws were the result of recommendations from the Task Force to Improve Law Enforcement that Governor Hutchinson created after the death of George Floyd. The task force recommended that Arkansas should pay competitive law enforcement salaries and create a grant program to increase public confidence in the training and professionalism of Arkansas’ law enforcement officers.
“No responsibility is more important for government than to assure public safety,” said Hutchinson. “Our police officers are risking their lives ... and they deserve our support and thanks.”
Photo Caption:
Governor Asa Hutchinson announced an expansion of the Intensive Supervision Program to monitor high-risk offenders. Earlier in March (above), Hutchinson signed two bills into law at the State Capitol to grant stipends and raise the salaries of state law enforcement and corrections officials.
