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.
Prairie County, Arkansas, has about 7,900 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Prairie County Sheriff's Office, three city agencies 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 Prairie 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: Prairie County public records, Arkansas arrest records, Arkansas inmate search and Arkansas criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Prairie County
The Prairie County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Prairie County. It reported 80 arrests for 2025.
Arrests inside three 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:
- Des Arc, 1,841 residents: 40 arrests reported for 2025.
- Hazen, 1,388 residents: 39 arrests reported for 2025.
- De Valls Bluff, 495 residents: 5 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 Prairie County: the State Park at Lower White River Museum State Park (state agency).
How Many Arrests Each Agency Reports in Prairie 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.
- Prairie County Sheriff's Office: 80 for 2025, 99 for 2024, 80 for 2023, 53 for 2022, 35 for 2021 and 17 for 2020.
- Des Arc: 40 for 2025, 32 for 2024, 41 for 2023, 25 for 2022, 27 for 2021 and 21 for 2020.
- Hazen: 39 for 2025, 33 for 2024, 42 for 2023, 25 for 2022, 37 for 2021 and 39 for 2020.
- De Valls Bluff: 5 for 2025, 2 for 2024 and 5 for 2023.
Together, the four agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 164 arrests that year. The same agencies with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 164 in 2025 against 166 in 2024, down 1.2 percent.
Through May 2026, the three agencies with every month so far on file reported 76 arrests, against 65 in the same months of 2025.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Prairie County Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Prairie 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 46 people. Its rated capacity in 2019 was 64 beds, and it ran at 72 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 Prairie County
For Prairie 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 Prairie 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 Prairie County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit.
- An arrest in Des Arc, Hazen or De Valls Bluff: the records unit of the agency that reports for that city.
- An arrest by the State Park at Lower White River Museum State Park: the records office of the agency involved.
- Your own statewide record: a request to the Arkansas State Police Identification Bureau.
Cities in Prairie County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for three of the five cities in Prairie County: Des Arc, Hazen and De Valls Bluff. Fredonia (Biscoe) and Ulm 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 Prairie County Circuit Court.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Prairie County each year?
The Prairie County Sheriff's Office reported 80 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the four agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 164 between them.
Where are people arrested in Prairie County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Prairie County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Prairie 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 Prairie County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Prairie 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 Prairie 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.