Accessing State of Arkansas Criminal Records

The crime statistics in Arkansas are made on the basis of information provided by the law enforcement agencies in conformation to the Arkansas Uniform Crime Reporting Program, or UCR. Arkansas criminal records provide information regarding the number of incidents and the consequent arrests made on the basis of the reports collated by these agencies. However, the crime statistics do not include any details regarding the court proceedings. 

The power to adjudicate criminal cases in Arkansas lies with three divisions of the trial court, namely the City Court, District Court and Circuit Court. Arkansas criminal records related to misdemeanors, traffic violations and ordinance violations are all maintained by the City and District Courts. In fact, criminal cases related to the aforementioned, including juvenile crimes and felony trials, come under the jurisdiction of the Circuit court.

Access to Arkansas Criminal Records

It is common practice to check for criminal background records at the time of employment. As a resident of Arkansas, you can check the Arkansas criminal records available with the state’s police department.

You can access Arkansas criminal records in two different ways. The manual process calls for the consent of the individual who is the subject of the criminal check on a notarized State Police form ASP-122. The complete form can then be mailed to the Identification Bureau of the Arkansas State Police in Little Rock. The completed information is then sent to the requester within a span of 10 days. The processing fee charged for this is $20. The manual report will feature information related to felony and misdemeanor charges.

Arkansas criminal records can also be checked with the help of the electronic process maintained by the state police department. However, the scope of an online search is limited to professional licensing boards and employers as per Act 63 approved by the First Extraordinary Session of 2003.

The employer has to register with the police department and request for an approval to sign up online with the Information Network of Arkansas, or INA. Following the registration, the owner of a business under the PLB can access criminal background records of an individual. The fee for the electronic processing of Arkansas criminal records is $22. The electronic Arkansas criminal record will list any misdemeanor or felony convictions, pending felony arrests and  whether the person is registered on the local sex offender list.

If you seek information about an individual’s past, it is best to rely on the information provided by the state-maintained websites like

https://www.ark.org/criminal/index.php

. The Arkansas State Police sources all data from the Arkansas Crime Information Center

http://www.acic.org/.

The chances of acquiring incorrect information are negligible as the arrest records are maintained on the basis of fingerprints and not merely on the basis of names.  In case of confusing or misleading entities, a law enforcement officer can resort to a fingerprint match. 

Before requesting access to criminal records, you need to be careful of the details you are furnishing. Incorrect information can delay or hamper your search. If found unsatisfactory, you can also challenge the search results without any additional charges. If any changes are found to be correct, then the entries are changed accordingly.