Access Fort Smith Arrest Records
Fort Smith arrest records are kept by the Fort Smith Police Department and by the Sebastian County Sheriff once a suspect is booked at the county jail. The Fort Smith Municipal Court tracks misdemeanor and ordinance cases. Fort Smith sits along the Oklahoma border and draws bookings from both state lines. This page walks through how to pull a Fort Smith arrest report, what the fees run, how FOIA works, and where to go for a broader Arkansas arrest records search using tools like ARCH, CourtConnect, and the ADC inmate lookup.
Fort Smith Arrest Records at a Glance
Fort Smith Police Records Unit
The Fort Smith Police Department Records office sits at 100 North 6th Street, Fort Smith, AR 72901. The phone is (479) 783-1051. Public hours run Monday through Friday from 8 AM to 5 PM. The records desk is the first stop for a Fort Smith arrest report, an incident report, or a traffic accident report. Staff accept walk-ins, mail requests, and FOIA requests via email.
Fees at the Fort Smith records desk are lower than many Arkansas cities. Accident reports cost $10, which matches the state-set fee. Incident reports are $5. Arrest reports are $5. Background checks run $10 for a local records-only check. Audio and video pulls cost $25 per hour because the clips have to be reviewed and redacted under FOIA rules.
The city's main page at fortsmithar.gov links to the police department, the municipal court, and the records office. The police page at fortsmithar.gov/156/Police covers patrol, investigations, records, and community programs.
The ARCH system shown above is the statewide gateway for any Fort Smith arrest records search that reaches beyond city limits. It is run by the Arkansas State Police Identification Bureau and can confirm whether a Fort Smith arrest led to a state-level conviction or an open felony case.
Note: Fort Smith accident reports can also be pulled through Lexis Nexis online at a $10 fee plus a small convenience charge, with the report number and date required.
Fort Smith Municipal Court and Arrest Records
The Fort Smith Municipal Court handles misdemeanors, preliminary hearings for felonies, and city ordinance violations. It sits at 100 North 6th Street, Fort Smith, AR 72901. The phone is (479) 783-2961. Traffic court runs Monday through Thursday. Criminal court runs Tuesdays and Thursdays. Felony trials move up to the Sebastian County Circuit Court once the case is bound over.
Court data pushes to CourtConnect at caseinfo.arcourts.gov. The tool is free. You can search for a Fort Smith defendant by name, by case number, or by citation number. CourtConnect shows the charging document, the docket entries, and the disposition. It will not show the arrest report itself. For that, use the Fort Smith Police Records Unit or the county sheriff's jail roster.
Scheduled maintenance on CourtConnect hits Monday through Friday from 12:30 AM to 2 AM and Saturday night into Sunday noon. For help, email acap.help@arcourts.gov. The Administrative Office of the Courts at arcourts.gov is led by Director Marty Sullivan at 501-682-9400.
Sebastian County Jail and Fort Smith Bookings
Most Fort Smith arrests are booked into the Sebastian County Adult Detention Center. The county sheriff runs the jail, the warrants desk, and the intake and release workflow. Fort Smith is the county seat, so the jail handles nearly every booking made by Fort Smith PD officers. For the full county record workflow, the Sebastian County arrest records page covers the sheriff's office, the county circuit court, and the local FOIA process.
When a suspect moves from county custody to a state prison sentence, the record moves with them. The ADC Inmate Search covers state-run prisons and most county jails. You can search by name, ADC number, age, race, facility, or offense. The ADC sits at 6814 Princeton Pike in Pine Bluff. For status alerts, register on VINE at vinelink.com or by calling 1-800-510-0415.
The ADC inmate search shown above pulls in names from all 75 Arkansas county jails, including Sebastian County's Fort Smith bookings. It is the best tool for tracking a Fort Smith arrest that crossed into state prison custody.
FOIA Rules for Fort Smith Arrest Records
The Arkansas Freedom of Information Act at Ark. Code Ann. § 25-19-101 et seq. runs the show. Any Arkansas citizen can ask the Fort Smith PD, the Sebastian County Sheriff, or the municipal court clerk for a public record. The agency has three business days to respond. Fees cannot be more than the actual cost of making the copy. The agency has to give you an itemized fee sheet if you ask.
Fort Smith arrest records are generally open under FOIA. What isn't? Ongoing investigation files. Sealed arrests and convictions under Ark. Code Ann. § 16-90-1401 et seq. Juvenile files under Ark. Code Ann. § 9-27-309. Undercover officer identities. Personnel files. Medical and adoption records. If the city denies a request, the Arkansas Attorney General at 323 Center Street, Little Rock, 501-682-2007, publishes the FOIA Handbook and opinions at arkansasag.gov/opinions.
Criminal history reporting rules sit at Ark. Code Ann. § 12-12-1001 et seq. That chapter makes ACIC the central repository and requires fingerprinting at arrest for specified offenses. It also sets the disposition reporting rules that Fort Smith PD follows when a case closes.
Statewide Tools for Fort Smith Arrest Records
ARCH at arch.ark.org is the main public path to a statewide arrest and conviction check. The fee is $24 per search. Results come back fingerprint-backed. It was created by Act 1185 of 2015 and is codified at Ark. Code Ann. § 12-12-1501 et seq. ARCH covers Arkansas felony and misdemeanor convictions, open felony arrests less than three years old, and sex offender status for levels 1 through 4.
The Online Criminal Background Check (CBC) at cbc.ark.org is a separate tool that needs the subject's signed, notarized release. CBC is not for the general public. Pricing runs $22 for a state name-based check, $11 for volunteer organizations, and $13 for a national fingerprint check. The Arkansas State Police Identification Bureau at 1 State Police Plaza Dr. in Little Rock processes manual requests at 501-618-8500.
For sex offender data, the registry at ark.org/offender-search shows level 3 and level 4 offenders near any Fort Smith address. Level 1 and level 2 names are kept off the public view. Under Ark. Code Ann. § 12-12-903, level 1 through 3 must re-register every six months and level 4 must re-register every three months.
Sealing Fort Smith Arrest Records
Arkansas uses the word "seal" where many states say "expunge." The Comprehensive Criminal Record Sealing Act of 2013 at Ark. Code Ann. § 16-90-1401 et seq. sets the rules. You file a petition in the Fort Smith court where the case was heard. Misdemeanors and many felony convictions can be sealed after the sentence is done and the wait period passes. Serious violent felonies, sex offenses that require registration, public sexual indecency, indecent exposure, and exposing another person to HIV are not eligible.
A sealed Fort Smith arrest record is taken out of the public view. ARCH will not return it. CBC will not return it. The record stays with the court and with law enforcement for limited uses. Juvenile record sealing uses its own statute at Ark. Code Ann. § 9-27-309 and files in juvenile court.
Forms for a petition to seal a Fort Smith misdemeanor or felony are linked from the Administrative Office of the Courts at arcourts.gov. You have the right under Ark. Code Ann. § 12-12-1013 to see and challenge your own ACIC record at no cost through the Criminal History Division.
Note: A sealed Fort Smith arrest record may still show up on an FBI-level background check if the federal file was not updated after the state sealing.
Nearby Cities for Arrest Records
The Arkansas River Valley has several cities near Fort Smith. Van Buren sits just across the river in Crawford County. Russellville is east on I-40 in Pope County. Fayetteville is north in Washington County. For a broader record check, start with the closest city.