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.
Sebastian County, Arkansas, has about 130,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Sebastian County Sheriff's Office, ten city agencies and one other 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 Sebastian 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: Sebastian County public records, Arkansas arrest records, Arkansas inmate search and Arkansas criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Sebastian County
The Sebastian County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Sebastian County. It reported 252 arrests for 2025.
Arrests inside ten 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:
- Fort Smith, 90,507 residents: 3,999 arrests reported for 2025.
- Greenwood, 9,730 residents: 89 arrests reported for 2025.
- Barling, 5,284 residents: 122 arrests reported for 2025.
- Lavaca, 2,528 residents: 20 arrests reported for 2025.
- Mansfield, 1,063 residents: 17 arrests reported for 2025.
- Hackett, 844 residents: 20 arrests reported for 2025.
- Bonanza, 607 residents: 15 arrests reported for 2025.
- Hartford, 498 residents: 15 arrests reported for 2025.
- Huntington, 488 residents: 10 arrests reported for 2025.
- Central City, 470 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 one more agency in Sebastian County: Fort Smith Public Schools (other).
How Many Arrests Each Agency Reports in Sebastian 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.
- Fort Smith: 3,999 for 2025, 4,756 for 2024, 4,652 for 2023, 4,411 for 2022, 4,919 for 2021 and 4,925 for 2020.
- Sebastian County Sheriff's Office: 252 for 2025, 313 for 2024, 342 for 2023, 183 for 2022, 199 for 2021 and 248 for 2020.
- Barling: 122 for 2025, 147 for 2024, 155 for 2023, 189 for 2022, 208 for 2021 and 160 for 2020.
- Greenwood: 89 for 2025, 112 for 2024, 138 for 2023, 166 for 2022, 116 for 2021 and 154 for 2020.
- Lavaca: 20 for 2025, 35 for 2024, 23 for 2023, 28 for 2022, 29 for 2021 and 29 for 2020.
- Hackett: 20 for 2025, 21 for 2024, 22 for 2023, 19 for 2022, 7 for 2021 and 7 for 2020.
- Mansfield: 17 for 2025, 37 for 2024, 37 for 2023, 43 for 2022, 71 for 2021 and 77 for 2020.
- Hartford: 15 for 2025, 28 for 2024, 8 for 2023 and 4 for 2022.
- Bonanza: 15 for 2025, 11 for 2024, 41 for 2023, 18 for 2022, 18 for 2021 and 11 for 2020.
- Huntington: 10 for 2025, 2 for 2024, 5 for 2020 and 5 for 2019; 2021, 2022 and 2023 are missing months.
- Central City: 1 for 2025, 8 for 2024 and 6 for 2023.
Together, the 11 agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 4,560 arrests that year. The same agencies with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 4,560 in 2025 against 5,470 in 2024, down 17 percent.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Sebastian County Are Held
The county jail is where a person arrested in Sebastian 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 2019 the jail held about 420 people. Its rated capacity in 2019 was 386 beds, and it ran at 108 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
SearchSystems opened and checked the jail page of the Sebastian County Sheriff's Office at sebastiancountyar.gov/Sheriff/Inmate-Inquiry (page title: Sebastian County Government > Sheriff > Inmate Inquiry), phone 479.783.4988, 901 South B St. Fort Smith, AR Greenwood Courthouse 11 Town Square Greenwood, AR 72936, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 24, 2026.
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 Sebastian County
An arrest in Sebastian County can be traced in two places, depending on where the case stands: the case index of the Sebastian County Circuit Court, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at sebastiancountyar.gov/Departments/Circuit-Clerk/Circuit-Clerk-Inquiry); the Prosecuting Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at sebastiancountyar.gov/Courts/Prosecuting-Attorney, phone 479-783-8976).
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 Sebastian 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 Sebastian County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit, reached through the office at 479.783.4988.
- An arrest in Fort Smith, Greenwood, Barling, Lavaca, Mansfield, Hackett or another of the cities listed above: the records unit of the agency that reports for that city; the city guides linked above name each city's records office.
- An arrest by Fort Smith Public Schools: the records office of the agency involved.
- A defendant who has been charged gets the report through the case: the Prosecuting Attorney, 479-783-8976, handles discovery for pending cases.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Sebastian County Circuit Court, through the court records page at sebastiancountyar.gov.
- Any county record that is not posted: the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at sebastiancountyar.nextrequest.com (page title: Public Records RequestsNextRequest | Modern FOIA & Public Records Request Software).
- Your own statewide record: a request to the Arkansas State Police Identification Bureau.
Cities in Sebastian County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for ten of the 11 cities in Sebastian County: Fort Smith, Greenwood, Barling, Lavaca, Mansfield, Hackett, Bonanza, Hartford, Huntington and Central City. Midland has 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 Sebastian County Circuit Court.
SearchSystems has a guide to the offices of these cities in Sebastian County, with the 2024 Census Bureau population; a city with its own arrest records guide opens there:
- Fort Smith (90,507)
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Sebastian County each year?
Fort Smith reported 3,999 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the 11 agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 4,560 between them.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Sebastian County?
Ask the Sebastian County Sheriff's Office at 479.783.4988; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at sebastiancountyar.gov/Sheriff/Inmate-Inquiry.
Where are people arrested in Sebastian County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Sebastian County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Sebastian 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 Sebastian County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Sebastian 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; the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at sebastiancountyar.nextrequest.com.
Is this the official Sebastian 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.