Reviewed and updated October 9, 2026 by the SearchSystems.net editorial team. The arrest counts are the ones the agency reported to the FBI, through 2025. The jail figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data. Every office link was opened and checked against the office's own site between September 24, 2026 and September 26, 2026.
Benton, Arkansas, in Saline County, has about 38,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and its arrests are reported to the FBI by an agency of its own. An arrest in the city leaves the same records whoever makes it: the arresting agency's report, the record of anyone held at the county jail, and, if the Prosecuting Attorney files charges, a case in the Saline County Circuit Court. This guide says who keeps each one, what it costs and who may see it, with the arrest counts the agency reported.
This guide covers who makes arrests, how many arrests, booking and the jail, finding an arrest, copies and common questions.
Related guides: Benton public records, Saline County arrest records, Arkansas arrest records and Arkansas inmate search.
Who Makes Arrests in Benton
The FBI lists Benton with an arrest reporting agency of its own, filed as Benton Police Department. It reported 1,485 arrests for 2025. A city is listed separately whether the officers are the city's own or the sheriff's under contract; the FBI's list does not say which.
Outside the city, the Saline County Sheriff's Office is the county agency. It reported 606 arrests for 2025.
How Many Arrests Benton Reports
Each agency reports its arrests to the FBI by month, and the FBI publishes them on the Crime Data Explorer. These are the full-year totals, all offenses, as the FBI held them on October 8, 2026; a year with months missing or not reported is left out.
- Benton: 1,485 for 2025, 1,703 for 2024, 1,512 for 2023, 1,329 for 2022, 1,434 for 2021 and 1,351 for 2020.
Benton's 1,485 arrests in 2025 were down 13 percent from 1,703 in 2024.
Through July 2026, Benton reported 852 arrests, against 857 in the same months of 2025.
Across Saline County, the five agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 2,715 arrests between them.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Benton Are Held
The county jail is where a person arrested in Benton and kept in custody ends up, whichever agency made the arrest, though a city department may hold someone in its own cells first and a person cited and released at the scene is never booked. The jail's record of each person held, with the charges, is a public record of the arrest, and once the person is released or sentenced the record continues in the court file.
On an average day in 2021 the jail held about 170 people, down from about 180 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2019, the last year with a capacity figure, was 208 beds, and it ran at 85 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
SearchSystems opened and checked the custody page of the Saline County Sheriff's Office at salinecounty.org/government/sheriff_s_office/inmate_roster.php (page title: Saline County, AR), which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 24, 2026.
That page is the place to look for someone who was booked recently; a person cited and released at the scene, or held only a few hours by a city department, will not be on it.
A sentence of more than a year is served in state prison; the Arkansas Division of Correction lists its inmates at doc.arkansas.gov/correction/online-services.
How to Find Out About an Arrest in Benton
An arrest in Benton can be traced in three places, depending on where the case stands: the custody page of the Saline County Sheriff's Office described above, for anyone booked into the county jail; the case index of the Saline County Circuit Court, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at caseinfo.arcourts.gov/opad); the Prosecuting Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at salinecounty.org/government/prosecuting_attorney.php, phone (501) 315-7767).
Statewide, CourtConnect is the Arkansas Judiciary's free statewide case search.
Arkansas is one of the states that lets anyone look up another person's statewide criminal history: the state runs an online name-based background check open to the public, through the Arkansas State Police. That record shows what agencies reported to the state, which is wider than one county's court index but can lag it.
Getting a Copy of an Arrest Record in Benton
An arrest report belongs to the agency whose officer wrote it, and that agency releases it, not the court or the jail. Under the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act the agency must answer within 3 working days when the record is not immediately available, and it may charge the actual cost of copying.
- An arrest by the Benton police: the police records page SearchSystems verified at bentonville.ar.gov/398/Records (page title: Records | Bentonville, AR), phone 479-271-5900, 908 SE 14th Street Bentonville, AR 72712, Monday - Friday 7:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m., which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 26, 2026.
- An arrest by the Saline County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit.
- A defendant who has been charged gets the report through the case: the Prosecuting Attorney, (501) 315-7767, handles discovery for pending cases.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Saline County Circuit Court, through the court records page at caseinfo.arcourts.gov/opad.
- Any county record that is not posted: the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at salinecounty.org (page title: Submit a FOIA (Freedom Of Information Act) Request).
- Your own statewide record: a request to the Arkansas State Police Identification Bureau.
The Saline County guide covers every agency in the county: Saline County arrest records.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Benton each year?
Benton reported 1,485 arrests to the FBI for 2025, its latest full year.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Benton?
Look on the custody page of the Saline County Sheriff's Office at salinecounty.org. It covers people booked into the county jail.
Where are people arrested in Benton booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Saline County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Benton?
The court files of criminal cases are public, and so is the statewide criminal history kept by the Arkansas State Police: the state runs an online name-based background check open to the public. The arrest report itself is released by the agency that made the arrest, under the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act.
How do I get a copy of an arrest report in Benton?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Benton police for its own arrests, the Saline County Sheriff's Office for the sheriff's. Under the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act the answer is due within 3 working days when the record is not immediately available; the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at salinecounty.org.
Is this the official Benton website?
No. SearchSystems.net is an independent public records guide, online since 1997. It links to the official city, county, court and state offices described above and does not hold records, charge for them or take requests.