Bigger numbers to the big house : Benton County sends half as many to prison as Washington County
Posted on Sunday, May 11, 2008
The 4 th Judicial District Prosecuting Attorney John Threet knows his office has been busy prosecuting cases and sending lots of criminals to prison. The numbers prove him right.
Washington County sent about twice as many people to the Department of Correction as Benton County during 2006 and 2007. The incarceration rates based on population are even further apart because more people live in Benton County. Both counties are well below the national average.
Washington County leads the state in the number of inmates sent to the Department of Community Correction, which includes lockdown facilities for nonviolent offenders.
“ We’ve got an office that does a good job and police departments that do a good job, ” Threet said.
Threet said he doubts that Benton County prosecutors go any easier on defendants than in Washington County. He suspects the biggest difference is because more violent and serious crimes are reported in Washington County.
Crime index figures show more crimes of all types reported to police in Washington County. Both counties’ figures fall well below the national average.
Some of the reasons for the disparity between the two counties may be demographics, nightlife and alcohol, officials said. Both counties are served by similar-sized prosecuting attorney’s offices.
The 4 th Judicial District, which includes Washington and Madison counties, has 15 deputy prosecutors including two who work in the juvenile division and one who handles district court cases. One of 4 th Judicial District deputy prosecutors works in Madison County.
The 19 th Judicial District, which covers only Benton County, has 16 deputy pros- ecutors including two working in the juvenile division and one for district court cases.
The number of felony cases that are handled by each county is much closer than the incarceration totals. More than 2, 750 felony cases were files in Washington County during 2007. In Benton County, the number was 1, 915.
“ The thing that stands out to me are the violent crimes. We’ve made that our priority, ” Van Stone, the 19 th Judicial District Prosecuting Attorney, said after reviewing the data.
Stone said he’s glad the violent crime rate is low in Benton County.
One reason that so many more people get sent to DOC from Washington County may be that until recently, Benton County prosecutors had the option of sending defendants to the county jail for sentencing.
“ We’ve had the luxury up here of putting people in the county (jail ), ” he said.
Both prosecutors said their offices handle each case on its merits without considering the impact on incarceration rates or totals. Impact of retirees,
vendors Washington County also booked about 5, 000 more people into its county jail during 2007. That number would have been even higher except Springdale handles most of its misdemeanor bookings at its city jail, and Fayetteville has started issuing citations on most hot checks and misdemeanors. “ I guess you’ve just got more crime in Washington County, ” Benton County Sheriff Keith Ferguson said after reviewing the data. The difference may be because Benton County has a larger number of retirees and the huge influx of professionals that work for Wal-Mart and its vendors. He pointed to the growing number of retired residents in Bella Vista, Dawn Hill, Lost Bridge and other areas.
“ The professionals that just move here, they are not into the crack cocaine, meth and domestic violence, ” Ferguson said.
Washington County Sheriff Tim Helder said demographics may play a part in the differences, as well as alcohol and nightlife.
“ We do have a different entertainment district and the college town, which influences arrests, ” Helder said. “ They’re dry; we’re wet. We have big college town; they don’t. ” Fayetteville: Violent crime down, property crimes up
Fayetteville has the highest violent crime rate in Northwest Arkansas and is its largest city.
Bill Phelan, the public information officer for the Fayetteville Police Department said the department has noticed from its most recent crime data is that violent crimes are down and property crimes are up in the city.
One of the reasons for the differences in arrests and incarceration rates may be because Washington County is wet. The police deal with more bar fights and aggravated assault, Phelan said.
The Fayetteville Police Department also makes a lot of arrests for traffic violations and misdemeanor arrests because of special events like Bikes, Blues & BBQ and University of Arkansas sporting events, he said.
He explained that the city police have started issuing citations instead of arresting people for hot check and misdemeanors.
“ Our physical arrests have actually gone down, ” Phelan said.
FEEDBACK:
Something to say about this topic? Submit a Letter to the Editor online
