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 October 9, 2026.
Clay County, Arkansas, has about 14,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Clay County Sheriff's Office, two city agencies and one other agency. An arrest 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 Clay County Circuit Court. This guide says who keeps each one, what it costs and who may see it, with the arrest counts each agency reported.
This guide covers who makes arrests, how many arrests, booking and the jail, finding an arrest, copies, cities and common questions.
Related guides: Clay County public records, Arkansas arrest records, Arkansas inmate search and Arkansas criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Clay County
The Clay County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Clay County. It reported 164 arrests for 2025.
The FBI lists two cities in Clay County with a reporting agency of their own, with the Census population and what each reported:
- Piggott, 3,521 residents: 55 arrests reported for 2025.
- Corning, 3,086 residents: 145 arrests reported for 2025.
A city on that list is reported separately whether the officers are the city's own or the sheriff's under contract; the FBI's list does not say which.
The FBI's agency list also places one more agency in Clay County: Piggott Public School (other).
How Many Arrests Each Agency Reports in Clay County
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.
- Clay County Sheriff's Office: 164 for 2025, 158 for 2024, 121 for 2023, 68 for 2022, 125 for 2021 and 97 for 2020.
- Corning: 145 for 2025, 78 for 2022, 81 for 2021, 96 for 2020 and 92 for 2019; 2023 and 2024 are missing months.
- Piggott: 55 for 2025, 74 for 2024, 96 for 2023, 74 for 2022, 53 for 2021 and 58 for 2020.
Together, the three agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 364 arrests that year. The two of them with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 219 in 2025 against 232 in 2024, down 5.6 percent.
Through June 2026, the three agencies with every month so far on file reported 188 arrests, against 203 in the same months of 2025.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Clay County Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Clay County is held at the county jail, whichever agency made the arrest, apart from the short stay some city departments' own holding cells allow; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked at all. The jail's record of each person held, with the charges, is a public record of the arrest, and the court file takes over from there.
On an average day in 2019 the jail held about 71 people. Its rated capacity in 2019 was 76 beds, and it ran at 93 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 Clay County Sheriff's Office at claycountysheriff.org/cur_inmates.html (page title: Redirecting…), which answered when SearchSystems opened it on October 9, 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 Clay County
For Clay County the place to look is the case index of the Clay 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).
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 Clay County
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 Clay County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit.
- An arrest in Piggott or Corning: the records unit of the agency that reports for that city.
- An arrest by Piggott Public School: the records office of the agency involved.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Clay 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 other Clay County guides go further: warrants, criminal records, court records, police reports, traffic tickets and divorce records.
Cities in Clay County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for two of the 12 cities in Clay County: Piggott and Corning. Rector, St. Francis, Pollard, Greenway, Knobel, McDougal, Peach Orchard, Success, Nimmons and Datto have no separate reporting agency in the FBI's list.
Wherever in the county the arrest happens, a person kept in custody goes to the county jail and the case goes to the Clay County Circuit Court.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Clay County each year?
The Clay County Sheriff's Office reported 164 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the three agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 364 between them.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Clay County?
Ask the Clay County Sheriff's Office; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at claycountysheriff.org/cur_inmates.html.
Where are people arrested in Clay County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Clay County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Clay County?
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 Clay County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Clay County Sheriff's Office for its own arrests, or the agency that reports for the city where it happened. 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 Clay County website?
No. SearchSystems.net is an independent public records guide, online since 1997. It links to the official county, court and state offices described above and does not hold records, charge for them or take requests.