Pope County Arrest Records

In Pope County, an arrest occurs when an individual is restrained and taken into the custody of law enforcement agencies as authorized by Arkansas arrest laws (Arkansas Code § 16-81-101 — 16-81-407). Certified law enforcement agents may carry out arrests if there are active warrants for an individual’s arrest or execute warrantless arrests in the following situations:

• Upon witnessing a public offense
• In domestic abuse cases involving physical injury
• With reasonable grounds that the person to be arrested committed a misdemeanor involving violence or a felony offense.

Private persons may also arrest an individual who commits a public offense in the presence of a judge or magistrate upon receiving a verbal order from the official or anywhere with reasonable grounds to believe that the person committed a felony.

Arrested persons in Pope County are usually held at the Pope County Detention Center (county jail) operated by the Sheriff’s Office. Each agency is responsible for creating, maintaining, and issuing records of arrests executed by its officers. However, arrest information may be contained in Pope County court records, criminal background check records, inmate rosters, or sex offender registries.

Are Arrest Records Public in Pope County?

Generally, members of the public may access Pope County arrest records in line with the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act. However, law enforcement agencies may restrict access to records relating to ongoing investigations, juvenile records, and other information protected by court seal or law.

Additionally, access to collated arrest information and other criminal history records maintained in the state’s central database (Arkansas Crime Information Center) is governed by law (Arkansas Code § 12-12-1008 to 12-12-1011). Therefore, while conviction records may be available to eligible persons, the law prevents the release of non-conviction information, such as:

• Information on arrests more than a year ago without disposition or active prosecution
• Arrests with acquittals (not guilty verdicts) or dismissed charges
• Felony arrests that occurred later than three years ago
• Traffic arrest history
• Unresolved misdemeanor arrests
• Juvenile arrests
• Sealed arrests

Only record subjects, eligible agencies, and persons authorized by the subject or law may access restricted arrest information in the ACIC database. However, local criminal justice agencies may disclose their own Pope arrest records at their discretion. Interested persons may inspect public arrest records or obtain copies upon request to the appropriate custodian.

What Do Public Arrest Records Contain?

Pope County arrest records deemed public under the FOIA may provide the following information to the public:

• Arrestee’s full name
• Arrestee’s age or date of birth
• Arrestee’s mugshot or photograph
• Arrestee’s physical description (race, height, weight, gender, eye color, etc.)
• Offense description (location, date, etc)
• Arrest description (date, time, location, etc.)
• Charges and statutes violated
• Arresting agency and booking details
• Warrant or bail details (if any)

Pope County Arrest Statistics

The Arkansas Crime Statistics based on crime data collected by the Arkansas Crime Information Center (ACIC) provides Pope County statistics of arrests carried out by seven (7) law enforcement agencies in the county, including the Sheriff’s Office, Russellville PD, and Atkins PD.

The 2023 arrest statistics show that there were 976 reported arrests in Pope County, comprising 901 adult arrests and 75 juvenile arrests. Furthermore, arrests were divided into Group A and Group B. Group A arrests consisted of crimes against persons (198), crimes against property A (39), crimes against property B (80), and crimes against society (279). At the same time, there were 380 Group B arrests.

Based on these statistics, the offenses with the most arrests included drug/narcotic violations (223), DUIs (127), liquor law violations (73), simple assaults (66), and aggravated assault (63).

Find Pope County Arrest Records

Finding or getting copies of arrest records in Pope County depends on where the arrest occurred, and state laws may limit access to these. However, inmate records, which contain some arrest and offense information, are mostly public and may be viewed online.

For instance, the Arkansas Department of Corrections (DOC) has an inmate search tool that persons may use to find inmates with any known details like ADC number, first name, last name, county, facility, offense category, gender, age, and race. Search results will provide any similar match, and users may view each offender’s profile by clicking on a result.

Additionally, the Federal Bureau of Prisons provides an inmate locator that users may use to find inmates by name or assigned inmate number. However, this only provides results on federal inmates.

Free Arrest Record Search in Pope County

The Pope County Sheriff’s Office offers an online list of inmates in the county’s Detention Facility. Available information includes the inmate’s details, mugshot, offense details, booking details, and name of arresting facility. Interested persons may then direct requests for Pope County arrest records to the specific arresting agency.

Generally, requesters may inspect these records in person or obtain copies for a fee. Requests should contain specific details like the subject’s name, arrest date, or other related information.

Third-party sites may also offer free arrest record search tools. Users may find needed records by providing known details like the subject’s name, date of birth, arrest date, or county name. However, downloading documents may incur charges.

Pope County Arrest Records Vs. Criminal Records

Arrest and criminal records in Pope County are documents generated and maintained by criminal justice agencies. These records provide summaries of criminal activities. However, while Pope arrest records are limited to detailing circumstances related to an arrest, criminal records provide collected information on arrest, prosecution, and conviction within the county.

As a result, arrest records do not usually provide disposition details and may not serve as proof of conviction. Conversely, Pope County criminal records provide information concerning convictions. Nevertheless, access to arrest and criminal records is governed by law and may be restricted if deemed confidential.

How Long Do Arrests Stay on Your Record?

An adult arrest will remain in one’s record forever as long as the individual was fingerprinted and the agency furnished the arrest details into the central database (ACIC). However, whether or not the arrest information will be publicly available depends on the case disposition, how much time has passed since the arrest, and whether the subject is eligible for sealing.

Only juvenile arrests or certain non-violent delinquency cases are “automatically” expunged when the court orders the expungement of all juvenile records maintained regarding the case on the subject’s twenty-first birthday. On the other hand, sealing adult arrests requires persons to file a petition for expungement under applicable laws.

Expunge Pope County Arrest Records

In Pope County, persons may seal their non-conviction arrests or arrest records along with certain convictions in line with the Criminal Record Sealing Act (Arkansas Code 16-90-1401). However, applicants must meet eligibility criteria and file a petition and order to seal records in the county’s District or Circuit Court after the appropriate waiting period. Persons may qualify for sealing if:

• The arrest happened over a year ago, but no charges have been filed, and no pending felony charges have been filed against the defendant in any court.
• The case was dismissed, acquitted, or an Order of Nolle Prosequi was entered and the defendant has no pending felony charges.
• The conviction was for an eligible misdemeanor; 5 years have passed since the defendant completed all sentences, and there are no pending felony cases.
• The conviction was for an eligible driving or drug possession offense and satisfied all sentence, restitution, and probation requirements.
• The conviction was for a non-violent and non-sexual Class C or D felony that qualifies under law, and 5 years have passed since the defendant completed all sentences. The defendant must have no pending felony charges and no more than one previous felony conviction.

Eligible persons should download and fill the appropriate forms and file them at the county court where the case was disposed. If the judge approves the order to seal, the clerk will forward the order to related agencies to remove the record from public access. However, the record may still be available to criminal justice agencies and other authorized parties.

Pope County Arrest Warrants

Arrest warrants in Pope County are official papers authorizing law enforcement officers to arrest persons suspected of committing an offense. A judge or magistrate issues warrants after a law enforcement officer files a criminal complaint and provides affidavits or other supporting documents that show reasonable grounds for believing the charges.

Pope County arrest warrants contain information such as the suspect’s name, charges, issuing court, issuing date, and any bond amount. The Pope County Sheriff’s Office provides a warrant list that includes each suspect’s name, physical description, warrant ID, and charges. A list of the most wanted offenders is also available online.

Do Pope County Arrest Warrants Expire?

No, Pope County arrest warrants do not expire. Hence, regardless of the offense’s statute of limitation, arrest warrants remain active and actionable until the person’s arrest, death, or court appearance (bench warrants) because charges are already filed in court. However, the court or issuing officer may recall or cancel arrest warrants if deemed proper, usually due to developments in the case.

Persons with active warrants out for their arrests should contact the Sheriff's Office about a voluntary surrender, release on bond, or how to take care of the warrant within legal boundaries.