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 on September 24, 2026.
Desha County, Arkansas, has about 10,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Desha County Sheriff's Office and two city agencies. 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 Desha 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: Desha County public records, Arkansas arrest records, Arkansas inmate search and Arkansas criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Desha County
The Desha County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Desha County. It reported 50 arrests for 2025.
The FBI lists two cities in Desha County with a reporting agency of their own, with the Census population and what each reported:
- Dumas, 3,604 residents: 70 arrests reported for 2025.
- McGehee, 3,504 residents: 77 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 Desha 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.
- McGehee: 77 for 2025, 99 for 2024, 112 for 2023, 78 for 2022, 80 for 2021 and 79 for 2020.
- Dumas: 70 for 2025, 78 for 2024, 60 for 2023, 111 for 2022, 85 for 2021 and 26 for 2020.
- Desha County Sheriff's Office: 50 for 2025, 85 for 2024 and 112 for 2023.
Together, the three agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 197 arrests that year. The same agencies with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 197 in 2025 against 262 in 2024, down 25 percent.
Through April 2026, the three agencies with every month so far on file reported 49 arrests, against 59 in the same months of 2025.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Desha County Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Desha 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 39 people. Its rated capacity in 2019 was 71 beds, and it ran at 55 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
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 Desha County
Whether someone was arrested in Desha County, and what came of it, shows up in two places: CourtConnect, the Arkansas Judiciary's free statewide case search, which shows whether charges were filed; 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).
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 Desha 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 Desha County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit.
- An arrest in Dumas or McGehee: 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, 870-261-1747, handles discovery for pending cases.
- Your own statewide record: a request to the Arkansas State Police Identification Bureau.
Cities in Desha County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for two of the six cities in Desha County: Dumas and McGehee. Arkansas City, Mitchellville, Watson and Reed 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 Desha County Circuit Court.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Desha County each year?
McGehee reported 77 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the three agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 197 between them.
Where are people arrested in Desha County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Desha County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Desha 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 Desha County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Desha 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 Desha 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.