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.
Monroe County, Arkansas, has about 6,400 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Monroe 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 Monroe 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: Monroe County public records, Arkansas arrest records, Arkansas inmate search and Arkansas criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Monroe County
The Monroe County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Monroe County. It reported 26 arrests for 2025.
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:
- Brinkley, 2,538 residents: 77 arrests reported for 2025.
- Clarendon, 1,439 residents: 7 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 Monroe 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.
- Brinkley: 77 for 2025, 101 for 2024, 132 for 2023, 113 for 2021, 92 for 2020 and 169 for 2019; 2022 is missing months.
- Monroe County Sheriff's Office: 26 for 2025, 29 for 2024, 6 for 2022, 13 for 2021, 40 for 2020 and 10 for 2019; 2023 is missing months.
- Clarendon: 7 for 2025, 8 for 2024, 13 for 2023, 14 for 2022, 14 for 2021 and 62 for 2020.
Together, the three agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 110 arrests that year. The same agencies with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 110 in 2025 against 138 in 2024, down 20 percent.
Through June 2026, the three agencies with every month so far on file reported 36 arrests, against 58 in the same months of 2025.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Monroe County Are Held
The county jail is where a person arrested in Monroe 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 4 people, down from about 28 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2019, the last year with a capacity figure, was 56 beds, and it ran at 50 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 Monroe County
An arrest in Monroe County can be traced in two places, depending on where the case stands: the case index of the Monroe County Circuit Court, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at arcourts.gov/administration/acap/courtconnect, phone (501) 410-1900); the Prosecuting Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at arcourts.gov/circuit/?q=attorneys, phone 870-238-1212).
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 Monroe 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 Monroe County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit.
- An arrest in Brinkley or Clarendon: 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, 870-238-1212, handles discovery for pending cases.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Monroe County Circuit Court, through the court records page at arcourts.gov/administration/acap/courtconnect, phone (501) 410-1900.
- Your own statewide record: a request to the Arkansas State Police Identification Bureau.
Cities in Monroe County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for two of the five cities in Monroe County: Brinkley and Clarendon. Holly Grove, Roe and Fargo 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 Monroe County Circuit Court.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Monroe County each year?
Brinkley reported 77 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the three agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 110 between them.
Where are people arrested in Monroe County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Monroe County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Monroe 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 Monroe County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Monroe 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 Monroe 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.