St. Francis County Arrest Records

An arrest is the lawful detention of an individual by law enforcement officers under suspicion of breaking local, state, or federal laws. Arrests can be with or without a warrant and are necessary when probable cause is established that the individual committed the crime. Arrests can also be necessary when an officer witnesses the individual breaking the law or when the accusation has not been proven, but the accused person is suspected to be a flight risk.

Upon arrest, an individual is taken to the St. Francis County Sheriff's AR Detention Center (St. Francis County Jail), where they are booked into the jail's database and their arrest information is collected. The contact information of the jail is as follows:

St. Francis County Jail
2124 South Washington,
Forrest City, Arkansas.
Phone: (870) 633-2611
Fax: (870) 261-1773

The St. Francis County Sheriff is primarily responsible for generating and maintaining arrest records in the county. As the case progresses down the criminal justice system, arrest records eventually make up part of St. Francis court records.

Are Arrest Records Public in St. Francis County?

Yes, under the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act, arrest records are classified as public records and are available to the public for inspection and copying unless specifically exempted by law. To protect citizens' privacy and public interest, examples of arrest records exempted from public disclosure include the following:

• Information on ongoing criminal cases
• Arrest records with non-guilty verdicts
• Law enforcement personnel records
• sealed or expunged arrest records
• Juvenile arrest records
• Arrest records specified for exemption by the court

What Do Public Arrest Records Contain?

Public arrest records in St. Francis County typically contain this information:

• Arrestee Personal information (Full name, date of birth, physical description, ethnicity, and sex)
• Arrest information (Date, time, and location of the arrest, Name of the arresting agency, Charges)
• Booking information (Booking number, Date, time, location, detention facility)
• Mugshot

St. Francis County Arrest Statistics

The 2023 arrest by contributor report by the Arkansas Department of Public Safety recorded several adult and juvenile arrests in St. Francis County. The most popular offenses leading to arrest included the following:

• 105 crimes against persons (Aggravated assault 46, Simple assault 51)
• 37 Crimes against property (burglary 28, theft-shoplifting 14)
• 50 drug/narcotic violations
• 152 Group B arrests (all other offenses)

Find St. Francis County Arrest Records

Arkansas and the United States provide several resources available for looking up inmate information, as arrest records are classified as public records. Examples of these include:

• St. Francis County Sheriff: Individuals can obtain inmate information by contacting the Sheriff's office, as they maintain the St. Francis County Jail. As long as they have the inmate's name, an individual can visit the sheriff's office in person to conduct a search or make use of the inmate search tools provided on their website. They offer a current inmates page for arrestees still in custody and a 48-hour release page for arrestees recently released from the detention center.
• Arkansas Department of Corrections: They provide an inmate page that includes information on various classifications of inmates, including death row inmates, escapees, parolees, and executions.
• Arkansas Criminal History (ARCH): It is a state-owned tool for obtaining accurate criminal history information. Consent of the record owner is needed to authorize a search, and it costs $24 per search regardless of the search results.
• Online Criminal Background Check System: An online tool provided by the Arkansas State Police for conducting criminal background checks online. The arrest record owner's consent is required to use this tool, and it costs $25 per search. Individuals may need to create an account on the platform to complete a search.

Free Arrest Record Search in St. Francis County

The St. Francis Sheriff's Office provides a free inmate roster for interested individuals to find information on currently incarcerated or freshly released local inmates for free. In addition to local and state resources, individuals can also use third-party sites to search for arrest records. Using keywords like the name of the arrestee, one can obtain basic information about the inmate, including their offense. Third-party websites offer a user-friendly interface for the search and usually aggregate records from various counties and states in the United States into a single resource, thereby shortening search time. Information from third-party sites may not be as complete or up-to-date as information from government sources, as they are not the official record custodians.

How Long Do Arrests Stay on Your Record?

Indefinitely. Unless an arrest is expunged or sealed by a court, it remains on an individual's criminal history. This means that the record will show up during background checks and may impact the arrestee's chances of getting employed, housing, or some licenses. The Arkansas Uniform Expungement Act allows individuals to ask law enforcement agencies to have their arrest record removed from public view, thereby improving their social and professional opportunities.

Expunge St. Francis County Arrest Records

Per Arkansas Code Annotated 16-90-901, et seq, expungement is the legal removal of an individual's criminal records from public access. According to legal guidelines in Arkansas, expunction does not destroy the criminal record. The record is rather confidential and is not available for unauthorized public inspection.

Arrest record expunction in St. Francis is handled at the state level, as local county law enforcement agencies do not have the authority to process expunctions. Under Arkansas law, the requirements to be fulfilled before an arrest record and other criminal records can be expunged include the following:

• The arrestee was acquitted of the crime
• The charge was dismissed or nolle prosequi
• The arrestee was found not guilty
• The arrestee has completed their court-issued drug program
• The arrestee received a governor's pardon
• The arrestee has a guilty verdict but has completed all court requirements for their case (served their sentence, paid all fines and costs applicable to the case)
• The case to be expunged is not a sexual offense, violent crime, or drug trafficking case.

The process of expunging a record begins with the arrestee filing a petition with the court where their case was filed. After review by the court, if there is no objection from the prosecutor, the judge signs off on the expunction, and the specific records are sealed from public view. Expunged records no longer show up in background checks, and the individual can legally deny the crime.

St. Francis County Arrest Warrants

St. Francis arrest warrants are issued by a judge to authorize the detention of an individual by law enforcement officers when probable cause has been presented that the individual committed a crime. Arrest warrants give law enforcement officers legal authority to arrest the individual named on the warrant at any time. The warrant can only be issued when there is a reasonable belief that the person committed the crime, either from an investigation, a witness statement, or evidence.

Arrest warrants are used to define the circumstances within which an individual can be arrested, thereby protecting citizens from unlawful arrests. In St. Francis County, if the arrest warrant is for a misdemeanor, it can be served anywhere within the state. If the warrant is for a felony, on the other hand, the warrant can be extradited anywhere within the United States. Some information contained in a St. Francis County Arrest Warrant includes the following:

• Name of the issuing court
• Case number
• Name of individual to be arrested (arrestee)
• Address of arrestee
• Phone number of the arrestee
• Description of offense
• Law or statute defaulted, which necessitates the address
• Signature of issuing judge
• Bail amount and conditions

Do St. Francis County Arrest Warrants Expire?

No. Once an arrest warrant has been issued in Arkansas, it will remain active until the individual named on it dies or the warrant is executed (the individual is arrested or appears in court). This means that no matter how much time has passed, individuals can still be charged at any time if they have a warrant issued in their name, whether or not they are aware of the warrant's existence. Depending on ongoing developments in the case, the judge who issued the warrant can also recall or quash it. The severity of the case and the resources available to the law enforcement agency with jurisdiction over the case may also delay, but not halt, the execution of an arrest warrant. Individuals should find out if they have a warrant out for their arrest, then resolve it before it leads to an arrest.