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 30, 2026.
Dallas County, Arkansas, has about 6,100 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Dallas County Sheriff's Office and one city 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 Dallas 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: Dallas County public records, Arkansas arrest records, Arkansas inmate search and Arkansas criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Dallas County
The Dallas County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Dallas County. It reported 217 arrests for 2025.
One city in Dallas County reports its arrests to the FBI separately:
- Fordyce, 3,174 residents: 87 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.
How Many Arrests Each Agency Reports in Dallas County
The FBI publishes every agency's monthly arrest counts 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.
- Dallas County Sheriff's Office: 217 for 2025.
- Fordyce: 87 for 2025, 86 for 2024, 134 for 2023, 155 for 2022, 199 for 2021 and 253 for 2020.
Together, the two agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 304 arrests that year. The one of them with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 87 in 2025 against 86 in 2024, up 1.2 percent.
Through May 2026, the two agencies with every month so far on file reported 118 arrests, against 129 in the same months of 2025.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Dallas County Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Dallas 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 120 people. Its rated capacity in 2019 was 128 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 Dallas County Sheriff's Office at dallascosoar.gov (page title: Sheriff | Dallas County Sheriff's Office | Fordyce Arkansas), phone (870) 352-2002, 106 S. Charlotte Street Fordyce, AR 71742, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 30, 2026.
A person sentenced to prison serves the sentence in a facility of the Arkansas Division of Correction, whose inmate locator is at doc.arkansas.gov/correction/online-services.
How to Find Out About an Arrest in Dallas County
An arrest in Dallas County can be traced in two places, depending on where the case stands: the case index of the Dallas 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 arkprosecutor13.com, phone 870-352-3650).
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 Dallas County
The report of an arrest is released by the agency that made it; the jail and the court hold their own records of the same event, but not the report. 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 Dallas County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit, reached through the office at (870) 352-2002.
- An arrest in Fordyce: the records unit of the agency that reports for that city.
- A defendant who has been charged gets the report through the case: the Prosecuting Attorney, 870-352-3650, handles discovery for pending cases.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Dallas 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.
Cities in Dallas County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for one of the three cities in Dallas County: Fordyce. Sparkman and Carthage 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 Dallas County Circuit Court.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Dallas County each year?
The Dallas County Sheriff's Office reported 217 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the two agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 304 between them.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Dallas County?
Ask the Dallas County Sheriff's Office at (870) 352-2002; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at dallascosoar.gov.
Where are people arrested in Dallas County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Dallas County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Dallas 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 Dallas County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Dallas 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 Dallas 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.