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.
Monticello, Arkansas, in Drew County, has about 8,200 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 Drew 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: Monticello public records, Drew County arrest records, Arkansas arrest records and Arkansas inmate search.
Who Makes Arrests in Monticello
The FBI lists Monticello with an arrest reporting agency of its own, filed as Monticello Police Department. It reported 214 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 Drew County Sheriff's Office is the county agency. It reported 70 arrests for 2025.
The FBI's agency list also places one more agency in Drew County: the University of Arkansas at Monticello (campus police).
How Many Arrests Monticello 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.
- Monticello: 214 for 2025, 225 for 2024, 203 for 2023, 219 for 2022, 435 for 2021 and 301 for 2020.
Monticello's 214 arrests in 2025 were down 4.9 percent from 225 in 2024.
Through July 2026, Monticello reported 101 arrests, against 129 in the same months of 2025.
Across Drew County, the two agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 284 arrests between them.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Monticello Are Held
The county jail is where a person arrested in Monticello 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 41 people, down from about 42 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2019, the last year with a capacity figure, was 43 beds, and it ran at 98 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
SearchSystems opened and checked the jail page of the Drew County Sheriff's Office at drewcountysheriff.com/jail (page title: Drew County Sheriff’s Office AR), which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 24, 2026.
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 Monticello
An arrest in Monticello can be traced in two places, depending on where the case stands: the case index of the Drew 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 arcourts.gov/circuit/?q=prosecuting-attorney, phone 870-261-1747).
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 Monticello
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 Monticello police: the police department's page SearchSystems verified at monticelloarkansas.us/police-department (page title: Police Department | City of Monticello, AR), phone 870-367-3411, 101 N. Church Street, Monticello, AR 71655, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 26, 2026.
- An arrest by the Drew County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit.
- A defendant who has been charged gets the report through the case: the Prosecuting Attorney, 870-261-1747, handles discovery for pending cases.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Drew County Circuit Court, through the court records page at caseinfo.arcourts.gov/opad.
- Your own statewide record: a request to the Arkansas State Police Identification Bureau.
The Drew County guide covers every agency in the county: Drew County arrest records.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Monticello each year?
Monticello reported 214 arrests to the FBI for 2025, its latest full year.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Monticello?
Ask the Drew County Sheriff's Office; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at drewcountysheriff.com/jail.
Where are people arrested in Monticello booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Drew County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Monticello?
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 Monticello?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Monticello police for its own arrests, the Drew 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.
Is this the official Monticello 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.