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.
Jackson County, Arkansas, has about 17,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Jackson County Sheriff's Office, four city agencies and two campus, state or other 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 Jackson 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: Jackson County public records, Arkansas arrest records, Arkansas inmate search and Arkansas criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Jackson County
The Jackson County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Jackson County. It reported 85 arrests for 2025.
The FBI lists four cities in Jackson County with a reporting agency of their own, with the Census population and what each reported:
- Newport, 8,049 residents: 511 arrests reported for 2025.
- Tuckerman, 1,664 residents: 6 arrests reported for 2025.
- Diaz, 1,211 residents: 8 arrests reported for 2024.
- Swifton, 709 residents: 1 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 these agencies in Jackson County: Arkansas State University at Newport (campus police); the State Park at Jacksonport State Park (state agency).
How Many Arrests Each Agency Reports in Jackson 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.
- Newport: 511 for 2025, 524 for 2024, 521 for 2023, 441 for 2021, 443 for 2020 and 422 for 2019; 2022 is missing months.
- Jackson County Sheriff's Office: 85 for 2025, 116 for 2024, 121 for 2023, 89 for 2022, 91 for 2021 and 101 for 2020.
- Tuckerman: 6 for 2025, 20 for 2024, 16 for 2023, 28 for 2022, 29 for 2021 and 28 for 2020.
- Swifton: 1 for 2025, 3 for 2024, 4 for 2023, 2 for 2022, 1 for 2021 and 9 for 2020.
- Diaz: 8 for 2024, 5 for 2023, 10 for 2022, 10 for 2020 and 16 for 2019; 2021 is missing months.
Together, the four agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 603 arrests that year. The same agencies with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 603 in 2025 against 663 in 2024, down 9 percent.
Through May 2026, the three agencies with every month so far on file reported 258 arrests, against 256 in the same months of 2025.
Diaz reported only part of 2025 (10 months) and is left out of the totals.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Jackson County Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Jackson 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 2018 the jail held about 10 people. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
SearchSystems opened and checked the custody page of the Jackson County Sheriff's Office at jacksoncountyso.com/inmate-search (page title: Inmate Search | Jackson County Sheriff's Office), phone 877-654-8463, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 24, 2026.
That page is the place to look for someone who was booked recently; a person cited and released at the scene, or held only a few hours by a city department, will not be on it.
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 Jackson County
Whether someone was arrested in Jackson County, and what came of it, shows up in three places: the custody page of the Jackson County Sheriff's Office described above, for anyone booked into the county jail; the case index of the Jackson 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 Jackson 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 Jackson County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit, reached through the office at 877-654-8463.
- An arrest in Newport, Tuckerman, Diaz or Swifton: the records unit of the agency that reports for that city.
- An arrest by Arkansas State University at Newport or the State Park at Jacksonport State Park: the records office of the agency involved.
- 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 Jackson 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 Jackson County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for four of the 11 cities in Jackson County: Newport, Tuckerman, Diaz and Swifton. Grubbs, Campbell Station, Jacksonport, Beedeville, Tupelo, Amagon and Weldon 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 Jackson County Circuit Court.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Jackson County each year?
Newport reported 511 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the four agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 603 between them.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Jackson County?
Look on the custody page of the Jackson County Sheriff's Office at jacksoncountyso.com/inmate-search, or call 877-654-8463. It covers people booked into the county jail.
Where are people arrested in Jackson County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Jackson County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Jackson 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 Jackson County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Jackson 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 Jackson 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.