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 between September 24, 2026 and October 4, 2026.
Union County, Arkansas, has about 37,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A person kept in custody after an arrest in Union County is held at the county jail, run by the Union County Sheriff's Office, and the jail's record of each person held is a public record. This guide says where to look for someone in custody, what the jail holds and who books people into it.
This guide covers the search, the jail, who books people, state prison and common questions.
Related guides: Union County public records, Union County arrest records, Union County warrants, Union County criminal records, Union County court records, Arkansas arrest records and Arkansas inmate search.
Finding Someone in Custody in Union County
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Union County is held at the county jail, run by the Union County Sheriff's Office, whichever agency made the arrest.
SearchSystems opened and checked the custody page of the Union County Sheriff's Office at unioncountysheriff.net/inmateRoster (page title: Union County Sheriff’s Office AR), which answered when SearchSystems opened it on October 4, 2026.
Someone booked recently shows on that page; someone cited and released at the scene, or held a few hours at a city station, does not.
The Union County Jail by the Numbers
On an average day in 2021 the jail held about 160 people, down from about 190 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2019, the last year with a capacity figure, was 213 beds, and it ran at 88 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
Union County has about 37,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), so the jail holds about 44 people for every 10,000 residents.
Who Books People Into the Union County Jail
The Union County Sheriff's Office and the agencies that report for El Dorado and Smackover make the arrests that end in a booking in Union County.
The FBI's agency list also places these agencies in Union County: the State Park at Arkansas Museum of Natural Resources and the State Park at South Arkansas Arboretum State Park (state agency).
The largest arrest counts reported to the FBI were El Dorado's 1,056 for 2025, the Union County Sheriff's Office's 261 for 2025 and Smackover's 27 for 2024.
Together, the two agencies in Union County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 1,317 arrests to the FBI that year. Those kept in custody were booked into the county jail; a person cited and released at the scene was not.
The counts, agency by agency and year by year, are in Union County arrest records.
From the Jail to State Prison
A sentence of more than a year is served in state prison, not the jail; the Arkansas Division of Correction lists its inmates at doc.arkansas.gov/correction/online-services.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I find an inmate in Union County?
Look on the custody page of the Union County Sheriff's Office at unioncountysheriff.net/inmateRoster. It covers people booked into the county jail.
How many people are in the Union County jail?
About 160 on an average day in 2021, the latest year in the Vera Institute's jail data, against a rated capacity of 213 beds.
Where do people sentenced to prison in Union County go?
To a facility of the Arkansas Division of Correction; its inmate locator is at doc.arkansas.gov/correction/online-services.
Is this the official Union 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.