Arkansas Criminal Records

Arkansas Criminal Records list all the crimes a person has committed. In these records, you can find out if someone has a felony or misdemeanor crime and if they are a registered sex offender.

The Freedom of Information Act indicates that all government records in the state are public, and anyone can look at them. So, the public has unrestricted access to the records unless the law asserts something different. You can examine records such as criminal records, inmate records, sex offender records, and arrest records.

The Arkansas Department of Public Safety (ADPS) and the Arkansas State Police keep and are in charge of all criminal records in the state. Specifically, under this record, they will provide you with the following information:

• Personal information
• Physical descriptions
• Aliases
• Any criminal conviction
• Court orders
• Charges
• Warrant
• Probation and probation orders

A person's criminal history in Arkansas includes specific convictions and often contains the following records:

Felonies

Felonies in Arkansas are crimes that can send you to prison by the state. The laws in Arkansas state whether a crime is a Class Y, A, B, C, or D felony. Some felonies don't fit into any category (unclassified), and the criminal statute determines the punishment for these crimes.

Class Y felonies are the most severe offenses someone can have on the record. A Class Y felony conviction may result in a jail sentence of 10 to 40 years or life imprisonment.

Some of the examples of convictions under the Arkansas felony records (Classes Y, A, and B) are the following:

• Murder
• Rape
• Arson
• Kidnapping
• Aggravated robbery
• Human trafficking
• Sex and drug crimes
• Burglary
• Theft of property
• Forgery

While the most common offenses (Classes C and D) in Arkansas include:

• Receiving stolen property
• Vandalism
• Failure to appear
• Financial identity fraud
• Intimidating a witness
• Aggravated assault

How long are Arkansas felony records kept? Class Y, A, and B felonies will remain on your record. Fortunately, you can erase Class C and D felonies upon sentence completion, but you must request it.

Misdemeanors

Misdemeanors in Arkansas carry a maximum sentence of one year in a county or municipal jail. Arkansas classifies misdemeanors as Class A, B, and C; some are unclassified.

Some of the most common misdemeanors that may be in Arkansas Criminal Records are:

• Possession of fewer than 4 ounces of marijuana without a card
• Drug paraphernalia
• Third-degree battery
• Third-degree domestic battery
• Public intoxication
• Assault
• Disorderly conduct
• Harassment
• Driving or boating while intoxicated
• Property theft ($1,000 or less)
• Minor in possession of alcohol

How long do misdemeanor records stay on file in Arkansas? Like felonies, misdemeanors in Arkansas are permanent in your criminal record. Fortunately, most misdemeanors are eligible for sealing right away. However, some require a five-year waiting period after the completion of a sentence. These consist of:

• Negligent homicide (Class A misdemeanor)
• Third-degree domestic battery
• Third-degree battery
• Indecent exposure
• Public sexual indecency
• Fourth-degree sexual assault
• Driving or boating while intoxicated

Criminal Driving Violations

Most of the criminal driving violations in Arkansas are misdemeanors under different classifications. The following violations of traffic laws in Arkansas will be under someone's criminal driving record if proven guilty:

• Racing on a public highway (Class A)
• Reckless driving (Class B)
• Off-light driving to avoid identification, detection, or apprehension (Class B)
• Hazardous driving (Class C)
• leaving an accident site after causing property damage (Class C)
• Reversing direction on a one-way street (Class C)
• Speeding above 15 mph over the limit (Class C)
• On-road nitrous oxide use in a vehicle or motorcycle (Class C)
• Drag racing on a public highway (Class B)
• More than three violations in 12 months (Class C)

How long do records of driving misdemeanors in Arkansas stay on file? Since criminal driving violations in Arkansas are misdemeanors, they will last forever unless you request to delete or seal them. You can erase a DWI after five years, while a DUI expungement can happen immediately after the penalty.

Sexual Offenses

Arkansas's sexual offenses are among the most severe violations in the country. Most sexual crimes have substantial jail sentences and registries of sexual offenders. It might be difficult for convicted individuals to obtain employment or residence if someone has this record. Here are the most prevalent sexual offenses in Arkansas:

• Rape
• Sexual misconduct with a minor
• Sexual immorality in public and indecent exposure
• Sexual assault (first to a fourth degree)
• Possession of child pornography
• Computer exploitation of a child
• Voyeurism,
• Some forms of abduction

Most sexual offenses in Arkansas are felonies. Therefore, these records will stay on file forever. Also, since these are serious crimes, expect that the expungement or sealing of this record will be complex or, in most cases, impossible.

Arkansas expunges criminal records in some instances. In Arkansas, "expunge" means no history of an arrest or conviction for the prosecuted person. Thus, a defendant's criminal record cannot abridge civil rights or freedoms.

How to file for an expungement in Arkansas? You can file a petition to seal your records if you are eligible for a violent act erased from your history. Arkansas Law Help has the standard Petition and Order to Seal. You must submit this request to the circuit or district court in the offender's county.

The arresting agency and prosecutor will get a copy of your petition. Within 30 days after your petition's filing, anybody opposed to sealing your record must submit a notice of objection with the court. They must justify opposing the seal.

If there is no opposition to the petition, the court may approve it without a hearing. If you submit an objection, the court will schedule one. The judge will seal your records after deciding they should be confidential.

Though Arkansas has an expungement or sealing order, the state law prohibits erasing criminal records for crimes against children, death, significant harm, or sex offenses. Under this criteria, a person convicted of only a non-violent felony can get their record expunged. In felony cases, expungement is less likely to succeed than misdemeanor ones.

Also, other conditions to qualify, you must have pled guilty or nolo contendere (no contest) to the crime. And you must have fulfilled all probationary terms and conditions. Lastly, sexual offenders whose victims were under 18 are ineligible for expungement.

Arkansas inmate records have different information about people in prison or jail in the state. Documents, videos, pictures, fingerprints, DNA samples, forms, and reports can all be part of these records. Most of the time, a person's inmate records follow them through the whole justice system.

The Arkansas Department of Corrections (ADC) oversees all inmate records. The state has these records online in a searchable database.

How to search for an inmate record in Arkansas? Arkansas is reasonably transparent with its inmate records. They offer a public app that allows users to download the whole inmate database or search for a particular inmate. You can use an individual's gender, age, county, facilities, offenses, and races to filter the search results through ADC number or name.

Initial search results provide a list of names, races, genders, facilities, and birthdates from which users can pick to see further information. The supplementary data includes eye and hair color, height, weight, and postal address. In addition, the report consists of previous and current crimes and, if appropriate, parole or release dates.

An arrest record in Arkansas is often a key piece of evidence in a criminal case and may play a significant role in the subsequent trial. The suspect's arrest record may stay in the public register for a long time, even if they are never found guilty of the crime (reason of arrest). It means that the general public can get to it.

Before an arrest, Arkansas requires a warrant from a judge. The state arrest warrant lets the police take someone into custody if they think they have done something illegal and bring them before a judge. Ark. Code Ann. 16-81-104 states that a circuit court judge, a district court judge, or a magistrate can sign this warrant.

Once a suspect gets arrested, their official police record begins with a process called booking. Suspects get their pictures taken, and all their personal information goes into the arresting department's database. From there, evidence gets tagged so there is an official connection to that police record.

Where are physical copies of Arkansas arrest records stored? Local police departments or county sheriff's offices frequently save arrest records. You can also find them in a circuit court or a state government organization's archive. However, there isn't a recognized repository in the state for arrest records.

What information you'll find in Arkansas arrest records? Expect that you will most likely see the following details in the arrest records of Arkansas:

• Description of the incident
• Arrest date and location
• Physical description (the arrested person's height, weight, hair color, sex, race, and any other defining characteristics, like tattoos, scars, or birthmarks)
• Personal information (the name, age, date of birth, phone number, address, social security number, and other contact information of the arrested person)
• Photographs
• Fingerprints
• Criminal charges filed
• Crime classification (whether the accused offense is a felony or a misdemeanor)
• Bail
• Court date
• Police interrogation details

The primary purpose of finding criminal records in Arkansas is for a background check. Employers often look at these records to learn more about a new employee's past.

When an employer in Arkansas does a background check before hiring someone, they must abide by all state and federal laws referring to the process.

The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) safeguards the privacy and accuracy of consumer information collected, maintained, and published by consumer reporting agencies that deliver Arkansas employers with employment background check reports. This law limits how employers may utilize background check information.

Local Arkansas jurisdictions create, maintain, and release official criminal records to the public, while Arkansas State Police maintains a central criminal records database. The Online Criminal Background Check System allows interested parties to search criminal records.

However, various jurisdictions have distinct record-keeping methods. Thus, the information on these documents may differ. Most criminal record sources use non-standard state protocols, storage categories, requirements, organization, and digitalization for on-demand court data.

A requester must register with the Information Network of Arkansas (INA) to receive online access to the official database and conduct a criminal record search on the state's official site. The requester can make a $25-per-request postal request to access the criminal records database. When submitting the mailing request, include the adequately filled out background checks form.

Background check costs vary by category. Arkansas state name-based background checks cost $22, while volunteers pay $11. In contrast, a fingerprint background check usually costs $14.25 and $12.25 for volunteers.

It is possible to get free copies of public criminal records. But these records might not have all of the information that they should.