Reviewed and updated October 9, 2026 by the SearchSystems.net editorial team. The arrest counts are the ones each agency reported to the FBI, as the FBI held them on October 8, 2026. 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.
Van Buren, Arkansas, in Crawford County, has about 24,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A person kept in custody after an arrest in Van Buren is held at the county jail, run by the Crawford County Sheriff's Office, and the jail's record of each person held is a public record. This guide says where to look for someone in custody, what the jail holds and who books people into it.
This guide covers the search, the jail, who books people, state prison and common questions.
Related guides: Van Buren public records, Crawford County inmate search, Van Buren arrest records, Van Buren warrants, Van Buren police reports, Van Buren property records, Arkansas arrest records and Arkansas inmate search.
Finding Someone in Custody in Van Buren
The county jail, run by the Crawford County Sheriff's Office, holds everyone kept in custody after an arrest in Van Buren, from every agency.
SearchSystems opened and checked the jail page of the Crawford County Sheriff's Office at crawfordcountysheriff.org/inmates (page title: Inmates | Crawford County Sheriff), which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 24, 2026.
That page is the office's jail information page rather than a roster.
The Crawford County Jail by the Numbers
On an average day in 2021 the jail held about 190 people, up from about 190 in 2019. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
Crawford County has about 62,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), so the jail holds about 30 people for every 10,000 residents.
Who Books People Into the Crawford County Jail
The Crawford County Sheriff's Office and the agency that reports for Van Buren (filed by the FBI as Van Buren Police Department) make the arrests that end in a booking in and around Van Buren.
The FBI's agency list also places one more agency in Crawford County: the State Park at Lake Fort Smith State Park (state agency).
The largest arrest counts reported to the FBI were Van Buren's 549 for 2025, the Crawford County Sheriff's Office's 467 for 2025 and Alma's 374 for 2025.
Together, the six agencies in Crawford County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 1,418 arrests to the FBI that year. Those kept in custody were booked into the county jail; a person cited and released at the scene was not.
The counts, agency by agency and year by year, are in Van Buren arrest records.
From the Jail to State Prison
A sentence of more than a year is served in state prison, not the jail; the Arkansas Division of Correction lists its inmates at doc.arkansas.gov/correction/online-services.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I find an inmate in Van Buren?
Ask the Crawford County Sheriff's Office; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at crawfordcountysheriff.org/inmates.
How many people are in the Crawford County jail?
About 190 on an average day in 2021, the latest year in the Vera Institute's jail data.
Where do people sentenced to prison in Crawford County go?
To a facility of the Arkansas Division of Correction; its inmate locator is at doc.arkansas.gov/correction/online-services.
Is this the official Van Buren 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.