Arkansas
What Arkansas's records show, how much of the state the FBI's data covers, and where the state publishes its own.
How Arkansas handles a case
- Sets bail first
- Judicial officer at first appearance (usually a district judge)
- Who that is
- A judge
- Release on a schedule
- In some counties
- Time to see a judge
- No hour limit set
- Money bail
- Allowed
- Risk assessment
- None statewide
- Prosecutor
- Prosecuting attorney, one per judicial district, elected
- Public defense
- Statewide public defender
- Jails run by
- County sheriff
- Who decides release first
A judge, usually a district judge, decides release at the first appearance; in felony cases, the circuit judges can name district judges as criminal magistrates to do this. A judge who signs an arrest warrant can set bail on it. Many counties also let the jail accept bond on a schedule the local judges sign; this varies by county and was not confirmed statewide.
Ark. R. Crim. P. 1.8, 8.1 to 8.5, 9.2 (Arkansas Judiciary text, as printed 2026)- Time to see a judge
A person arrested and not released must be taken before a judicial officer without unnecessary delay; the rules set no hour limit. A person held after a warrantless arrest must have a judge find reasonable cause within 48 hours, unless the prosecutor shows an emergency.
Ark. R. Crim. P. 4.1(e), 8.1 (Arkansas Judiciary text, as printed 2026)- Money bail
Arkansas allows money bail. The rules tell a judge to set money bail only after deciding that no other condition will make sure the person comes to court.
Ark. R. Crim. P. 9.2 (Arkansas Judiciary text, as printed 2026)
Crime and arrests
No figures yet
FBI data coverage
- Population covered
- 98%
- of Arkansas's people lived under an agency that reported to the FBI in 2025.
- Agencies on NIBRS
- 99%
- 378 of 380 agencies send incident detail. The rest send summary counts or nothing.
2 agencies not reporting through NIBRS
- Arkansas State PoliceState Police
- Huntsville Police DepartmentCity
Counties and agencies: no data yet
Source: FBI Crime Data Explorer, pulled 2026-09-26.
State crime reporting
- Program
- Arkansas Department of Public Safety, Arkansas Crime Information Center (ACIC), Statistical Analysis Center
- Incident reporting
- AR NIBRS Program; all agencies report NIBRS since 2009
- Annual report
- Arkansas Crime Statistics (a yearly set of table PDFs); formerly Crime in ArkansasLatest edition: 2025. Editions online 2003 to 2025.
- Online portal
- No state portal found.
- What changed
- The single Crime in Arkansas report gave way to separate table PDFs per year. 2003-2008 tables merge summary and NIBRS data using the FBI conversion manual.
Links and years checked 2026-09-26.
Arkansas sources
- ACIC Crime StatisticsState · AR
Arkansas Department of Public Safety, Arkansas Crime Information Center · Incidents, Arrests · html, pdf · annual
The ACIC Statistical Analysis Center runs the state incident-based UCR/NIBRS program.
Arkansas Administrative Office of the Courts · Courts · dashboard · annual
Tableau Public, county and circuit, filed and disposed by issue area; CSV-by-URL export returns 404.
Plus 83 national sources, from the FBI, the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the Census Bureau, the courts, and others.