As the Arkansas Department of Correction fights to curb overcrowding in the prison system, U.S. Department of Justice statistics out this month show the state is bucking a national trend by being one of a handful whose prison population grew significantly in 2009.

That trend continued this year, prison officials said.

According to Correction Department spokesman Dina Tyler, the state prison system grew by an average of 114 people a month through November.

“We’ve got a bunch of folks,” Tyler said. “Arkansas can’t keep doing what it’s doing. We can’t lock everyone up.”

http://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2010/dec/27/arkansas-rarity-its-inmates-rise-20101227/?news-arkansas