Arkansas

Map of Arkansas with spikes representing the active metric for each facility.

970

Spikes represent the cumulative cases in a facility for incarcerated people

Statewide among incarcerated people

Cases

Cumulative Case Rate

Data Grade

State Facilities

11,376

Unavailable

Federal Facilities

970

30%

ICE Detention Centers

Unavailable

Unavailable

Statewide among staff

Cases

Data Grade

State Facilities

Unavailable

Federal Facilities

Unavailable

ICE Detention Centers

Unavailable

Facilities by

FacilityIncarcerated PeopleStaff

Forrest City Federal Correctional Complex

Federal Facilities

970N/A

Data Reporting & Quality Scorecard

Data Reporting
& Quality Grade
F*

This scorecard assesses data reporting and quality for the state department of corrections in Arkansas. Read more about our scoring methodology and to see how this jurisdiction compares to other state and federal systems.

Scores assessed as of May 10, 2021. Scores will be reevaluated on a monthly basis.

*

The Arkansas Department of Corrections has gradually reduced the granularity of data included on its dashboard, becoming less transparent over time.

Data reporting for incarcerated people
Cumulative Casesreported systemwide

Systemwide only

Cumulative Deathsnot reported

None

Active Casesreported systemwide

Systemwide only

Tests Administerednot reported

None

Populationnot reported

None

Vaccinationsnot reported

None

Data reporting for staff
Cumulative Casesnot reported

None

Cumulative Deathsnot reported

None

Active Casesreported systemwide

Systemwide only

Tests Administerednot reported

None

Populationnot reported

None

Vaccinationsnot reported

None

Data quality
Machine ReadableNo

No

Regularly UpdatedYes

Yes

Clearly DefinedNo

No

Contextualized HistoricallyYes

Yes

Legal Filings and Court Orders Related to COVID

1

number of courts

2

number of facilities

1

compassionate releases granted

2

filings coded by our team

Our project collaborates with Bronx Defenders, Columbia Law School’s Center for Institutional and Social Change, and Zealous to collect legal documents from around the country related to COVID-19 and incarceration. Together, we then organize and code them into the jointly managed Health is Justice litigation hub for public defenders, litigators, and other advocates. The majority of the legal documents in the Health is Justice litigation hub are federal court opinions, but we are expanding to state legal filings, declarations, and exhibits.

In addition to the Health is Justice litigation hub, our project also manages additional data self-reported by advocates regarding COVID-19-related legal filings involving incarcerated youth and individuals in immigration detention.

For more COVID-19-related legal filings, please visit the University of Michigan Law School’s Civil Rights Litigation Clearinghouse, COVID-19 Special Collection.

Prison and Jail Releases Related to COVID

We collect data on jurisdictions across the U.S. that have released people from adult prison and jail custody in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

JurisdictionFacility/facilitiesAuthorizing agent(s)Date*Overall population reduction/ total # of releases**Population prior to releases***Known facility capacity****Release detailsSource
ArkansasStatewide prisonsParole Board/Gov5/12/2030017759Other
ArkansasStatewide prisonsGovernor and ADOC7/3/202043015346Other
CraigheadCraighead County Jail3/20/202015Minor offenses
PulaskiPulaski County JailCourts3/23/202026Minor offenses
WashingtonWashington County Jail4/10/202025408710Parole/probation violation
  1. For the most part, we only include release efforts where the data source includes some sort of programmatic description of who is being released (e.g., people with technical violations of parole, people charged with non-violent crimes, etc.). You can find our full prison releases dataset here and jail releases dataset here.

  2. *date of releases, if available. Otherwise, date on which releases first were reported.

  3. **total number of releases reported when available. Otherwise, the change in population to which the releases contributed is reported.

  4. ***last reported inmate population before releases were realized

  5. ****capacity is often determined differently across jurisdictions and some facilities often report more than one capacity number. In these cases, we report the higher of the figures available.

Grassroots and Community Organizing Efforts Related to COVID

Our team collects data on grassroots and community organizing efforts by incarcerated people, their families, community-based organizations, nonprofits, and advocates aimed at influencing government agencies to protect the lives of people incarcerated in prisons, jails, and detention centers against the threats posed by COVID-19.

Target facilityCountyDate of actionOrganizationType of effortInternal/ externalEffort concernsSource
Cummins Unit of Arkansas Department of CorrectionsLincoln County4/12/2020Incarcerated folks at Cummins UnitUprising/Protest–InternalExternalTesting procedures, Sanitation improvements
Southwest Arkansas Community Correction CenterMiller County4/12/20205 incarcerated folks briefly escapedPrison BreakExternalAccelerated releases
  1. You can find our full dataset here.