Title 12 — Law Enforcement, Emergency Management, and Military Affairs

(a) An inmate may be entitled to meritorious good time reducing his or her transfer eligibility date up to thirty (30) days for each month incarcerated after imposition of sentence in one (1) of the units, facilities, and centers maintained by the Division of Correction or the Di…

(a) (1) There is established a classification committee to be defined by administrative rules approved by the Board of Corrections.(2) Members of the committee shall be selected by wardens or supervisors of the various units, facilities, or centers of the Division of Correction a…

(a) All meritorious good time shall be forfeited by an inmate in the event of escape, and all or part of accrued meritorious good time may be taken away by the Director of the Division of Correction or the Director of the Division of Community Correction, respectively, for infrac…

No inmate sentenced to the Division of Correction shall ever receive a reduction under this subchapter, or this subchapter and another subchapter jointly, of more than thirty (30) days for each month served except for the additional days of meritorious good time awards authorized…

(a) (1) Any person who is sentenced by a circuit court to an imposed period of incarceration at a facility operated or contracted by a division of the Department of Corrections and is awaiting transfer to a facility operated or contracted by a division of the department may earn …

This subchapter applies to offenses committed before January 1, 2025.

(a) Properties owned by the State of Arkansas and occupied by the various units of the Division of Correction and the Division of Community Correction are by this subchapter designated as a qualified school district to be known as the “Arkansas Correctional School District”. (b) …

The Board of Corrections and the State Board of Education are directed, authorized, and empowered to adopt rules as are necessary to implement the provisions of this subchapter.

A school established under this subchapter and a person incarcerated who attends the school shall be entitled to certain educational privileges provided generally to common public schools and adult education programs administered by the State Board of Education to students who at…

(a) The cost of implementing and operating the Arkansas Correctional School District shall be borne by the state and shall be paid from funds appropriated by the General Assembly from the general revenues of the state to the Division of Correction, the Division of Community Corre…

The Board of Corrections and the State Board of Education may accept gifts, grants, donations, equipment, materials, bequests, and real and personal property from public and private sources to implement and operate the school program authorized by this subchapter.

(1) The Superintendent of the Arkansas Correctional School District shall:(1) Promulgate rules that require that:(A) Teachers within the Arkansas Correctional School District have and demonstrate awareness of the best practices of scientific reading instruction as required under …

(a) The Department of Correction shall establish and shall prescribe standards for health, medical, mental health, and dental services for each institution, including preventive, diagnostic, and therapeutic measures on both an outpatient and inpatient basis for all types of patie…

(a) All prisoners committed to the Division of Correction shall be given a physical examination initially upon arrival and then as often as determined by medical staff of the division. (b) Inmates shall be assigned to labor as shall be fitting, with due consideration being given …

(a) (1) Each new inmate committed to the Division of Correction shall be given a medical examination during the intake process.(2) (A) During the medical examination required under subdivision (a)(1) of this section, the medical provider shall determine what restrictions, if any,…

(a) As used in this section:(1) “Permanently incapacitated” means, as determined by a licensed physician, that an inmate:(A) Has a medical condition that is not necessarily terminal but renders him or her permanently and irreversibly incapacitated; and(B) Requires immediate and l…

(a) The Division of Correction is authorized to develop in-house due process procedures as approved by the Board of Corrections in accordance with United States Supreme Court guidelines for the voluntary or involuntary treatment of inmates with mental illness at the facilities an…

(a) The purpose of this section is to enable the Division of Correction to establish a core program that will utilize services of medical and mental health providers in the community to provide intensive treatment of inmates with paraphilia, commonly known as sexual deviations, d…

(a) When an individual who is enrolled in a Medicaid program or the Health Care Independence Program [expired] is incarcerated to the custody of the Division of Correction, the Division of Community Correction, or detained in a county jail, city jail, juvenile detention facility,…

(a) A correctional or detention facility operated or administered by the Department of Corrections shall establish a policy to offer a male inmate or detainee who is:(1) Fifty-five (55) years of age or older but younger than seventy (70) years of age a prostate screening every tw…

This subchapter may be known and cited as the “State Prison Inmate Care and Custody Reimbursement Act”.

(1) As used in this subchapter:(1) “Board” means the Board of Corrections;(2) “Cost of care” means the cost to the Department of Correction or the Department of Community Correction for providing room, board, clothing, medical, and other normal living expenses of inmates in the D…

(a) (1) The Director of the Department of Correction or the Director of the Department of Community Correction shall forward to the Attorney General a list containing the name of each prisoner in the respective penal facilities of the Department of Correction or the Department of…

(a) (1) When a person is admitted to an institution of the Department of Correction as an inmate or the Department of Community Correction as a resident of a community correction facility, the Attorney General shall petition the Pulaski County Circuit Court or the prosecuting att…

It shall be the duty of the sentencing judge, the county sheriff of the county, the Director of the Department of Correction or the Director of the Department of Community Correction, and the warden or administrative head of the penal facility or residential facility in which the…

(a) The Attorney General shall enforce this subchapter. (b) However, the Attorney General may refer to the prosecuting attorney of the county from which the inmate in the Division of Correction or the person residing in a Division of Community Correction facility was sentenced, o…

(a) (1) All moneys recovered for the cost of care of prisoners in a facility of the Division of Correction or the Division of Community Correction under this subchapter shall be deposited into the State Treasury.(2) The Treasurer of State shall credit the moneys to the appropriat…

(a) Any compensatory damages after payment of attorney's fees and costs awarded to a prisoner in connection with a civil action brought against any state or local jail, prison, or correctional facility, or against any official or agent of such jail, person, or correctional facili…

The provisions of this subchapter are not intended to in any way affect the immunity from suit granted to state officials and employees under § 25-44-305 or to the state and its official agencies under Arkansas Constitution, Article 5, § 20.

This subchapter applies to a felony offense committed on or after January 1, 2025.

(a) Subject to rules promulgated by the Board of Corrections, an inmate eligible to accrue earned release credits may accrue earned release credits against the time spent in confinement pursuant to a sentence to the Division of Correction by the sentencing court. (b) (1) The Boar…

(a) (1) (A) The Board of Corrections shall establish an earned release credit classification committee.(B) Members of the committee shall be selected by wardens or supervisors of the various units, facilities, or centers of the Division of Correction and Division of Community Cor…

An inmate sentenced to the Division of Correction shall not receive a reduction in his or her required service time under this subchapter, or this subchapter and another law jointly, if the reduction in his or her required service time exceeds the amount authorized for the offens…

(a) The Department of Corrections shall coordinate with healthcare providers or community-based providers, or both, to develop a custody and care plan that allows an inmate who has given birth to remain with her newborn child during the period authorized by this section. (b) Foll…

(a) (1) To the greatest extent possible, after accounting for security and capacity factors, the Department of Corrections shall place an inmate who is a parent of one (1) or more minor children within two hundred fifty (250) miles of the inmate's permanent address of record.(2) …

(a) To the greatest extent practicable and consistent with safety and order of the correctional facility, the Secretary of the Department of Corrections shall adopt rules that limit inspections by male correctional officers where a female inmate is in a state of undress. (b) This…

(a) The Department of Corrections shall develop and provide to all department employees responsible for the care or custody of pregnant inmates training related to the physical and mental health of pregnant inmates and unborn children, including without limitation the:(1) General…

(a) The General Assembly finds that:(1) Recidivism rates reflect not just the behavior of a person after reentry into society, but the correctional system's response to that person's behavior during his or her term of incarceration; and(2) The recidivism rate for the Department o…

(1) As used in this subchapter:(1) “Case plan” means an individualized plan developed by the Department of Corrections that identifies the available programs or meaningful activities that address the needs of an inmate and reduce an inmate's risk of recidivism;(2) “Program or mea…

(a) (1) There is established the Recidivism Reduction System within the Department of Corrections.(2) The system shall be established at the cabinet level rather than within the Division of Correction or Division of Community Correction to address the factors that lead to recidiv…

(a) A validated risk and needs assessment shall be conducted at the time of intake for each inmate. (b) (1) A case plan shall be developed for each inmate based on the findings of the validated risk and needs assessment to assign an inmate to appropriate programs or meaningful ac…

(a) (1) The Recidivism Reduction System shall include guidance on the kind and amount of programs or meaningful activities that should be assigned to an inmate.(2) The guidance shall include protocols for the Department of Corrections to tailor placement in programs or meaningful…

(a) (1) The Recidivism Reduction System shall incorporate incentives and rewards for inmates to participate and complete assigned programs or meaningful activities.(2) An inmate who is successfully participating in his or her assigned program or meaningful activity and demonstrat…

(a) The Recidivism Reduction System shall include policies for the Department of Corrections to enter into partnerships with:(1) A nonprofit or other private organization that will deliver programs or meaningful activities on a volunteer basis, including without limitation faith-…

(a) An inmate shall be ranked for priority in program or meaningful activity placement through a priority ranking report developed by the Department of Corrections. (b) A priority ranking report shall be used for placement consideration by prioritizing those inmates with the high…

(1) An inmate shall not be eligible to participate in an educational program if he or she is:(1) Housed in maximum custody or detention, except where a digital learning educational program is available;(2) Sentenced to death;(3) (A) A citizen or national of a foreign country who …

(a) (1) There is created the position of Deputy Director of Reentry within the Department of Corrections.(2) The deputy director shall:(A) Identify the reentry needs of the inmate population and develop a reentry preparation program for the Department of Corrections to address th…

(1) The Board of Corrections shall include the following in the report required by § 12-27-104:(1) A summary of the Department of Corrections' activities and accomplishments under this subchapter;(2) A summary of the types of programs or meaningful activities that are available t…

(a) The Secretary of the Department of Corrections shall reclassify up to one hundred fifty (150) vacant correctional officer positions to create an appropriate number of Recidivism Reentry System positions necessary to comply with this subchapter. (b) If after reclassification a…

(a) To ensure the Department of Corrections implements and operates the Recidivism Reduction System as required under this subchapter and any developed rules or policies, the Department of Inspector General shall conduct biennial audits to assess system utilization, adherence, an…