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.
Madison County, Arkansas, has about 18,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Madison County Sheriff's Office, one city agency and one state 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 Madison 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: Madison County public records, Arkansas arrest records, Arkansas inmate search and Arkansas criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Madison County
The Madison County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Madison County. It reported 223 arrests for 2025.
The FBI lists one city in Madison County with a reporting agency of its own:
- Huntsville, 3,426 residents: 1,175 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 Madison County: the State Park at Withrow Springs State Park (state agency).
How Many Arrests Each Agency Reports in Madison 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.
- Huntsville: 1,175 for 2025, 1,178 for 2024, 1,166 for 2023, 1,176 for 2022, 1,158 for 2021 and 1,149 for 2020.
- Madison County Sheriff's Office: 223 for 2025, 216 for 2024, 236 for 2023, 206 for 2022, 295 for 2021 and 226 for 2020.
Together, the two agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 1,398 arrests that year. The same agencies with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 1,398 in 2025 against 1,394 in 2024, up 0.3 percent.
Through July 2026, the two agencies with every month so far on file reported 709 arrests, against 827 in the same months of 2025.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Madison County Are Held
The county jail is where a person arrested in Madison County and kept in custody ends up, whichever agency made the arrest, though a city department may hold someone in its own cells first and a person cited and released at the scene is never booked. The jail's record of each person held, with the charges, is a public record of the arrest, and once the person is released or sentenced the record continues in the court file.
On an average day in 2021 the jail held about 1 people, down from about 3 in 2015. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
SearchSystems opened and checked the jail page of the Madison County Sheriff's Office at sheriffrandytucker.com/madison-county-detention-center (page title: Madison County Detention Center | Madison County Sheriff's Department), which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 24, 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 Madison County
For Madison County the place to look is the case index of the Madison County Circuit Court, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at madisoncountyar.gov).
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 Madison 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 Madison County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit.
- An arrest in Huntsville: the records unit of the agency that reports for that city.
- An arrest by the State Park at Withrow Springs State Park: the records office of the agency involved.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Madison County Circuit Court, through the court records page at madisoncountyar.gov.
- Your own statewide record: a request to the Arkansas State Police Identification Bureau.
Cities in Madison County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for one of the three cities in Madison County: Huntsville. St. Paul and Hindsville 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 Madison County Circuit Court.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Madison County each year?
Huntsville reported 1,175 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the two agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 1,398 between them.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Madison County?
Ask the Madison County Sheriff's Office; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at sheriffrandytucker.com.
Where are people arrested in Madison County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Madison County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Madison 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 Madison County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Madison 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 Madison 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.