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.
Johnson County, Arkansas, has about 26,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Johnson 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 Johnson 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: Johnson County public records, Arkansas arrest records, Arkansas inmate search and Arkansas criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Johnson County
The Johnson County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Johnson County. It reported 183 arrests for 2024, its latest complete year.
Arrests inside two of the county's cities are reported to the FBI by an agency of the city's own, listed here with the Census population and what each reported:
- Clarksville, 9,606 residents: 290 arrests reported for 2025.
- Lamar, 1,769 residents: 30 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 Johnson 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.
- Clarksville: 290 for 2025, 264 for 2024, 282 for 2023, 241 for 2022, 290 for 2021 and 293 for 2020.
- Lamar: 30 for 2025, 36 for 2024, 49 for 2023, 85 for 2022, 117 for 2021 and 110 for 2020.
- Johnson County Sheriff's Office: 183 for 2024, 301 for 2023, 361 for 2022, 423 for 2021, 579 for 2020 and 455 for 2019.
Together, the two agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 320 arrests that year. The same agencies with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 320 in 2025 against 300 in 2024, up 6.7 percent.
Through June 2026, the two agencies with every month so far on file reported 172 arrests, against 180 in the same months of 2025.
Johnson County Sheriff's Office reported only part of 2025 (10 months) and is left out of the totals.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Johnson County Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Johnson 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 2021 the jail held about 79 people, up from about 48 in 2019. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
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 Johnson County
For Johnson County the place to look is CourtConnect, the Arkansas Judiciary's free statewide case search, which shows whether charges were filed.
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 Johnson 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 Johnson County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit.
- An arrest in Clarksville or Lamar: the records unit of the agency that reports for that city.
- Your own statewide record: a request to the Arkansas State Police Identification Bureau.
Cities in Johnson County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for two of the five cities in Johnson County: Clarksville and Lamar. Coal Hill, Knoxville and Hartman 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 Johnson County Circuit Court.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Johnson County each year?
Clarksville reported 290 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the two agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 320 between them.
Where are people arrested in Johnson County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Johnson County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Johnson 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 Johnson County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Johnson 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 Johnson 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.