Izard County Inmate Population Overview
Izard County has two custody systems that should not be merged into one number. The local jail is the Izard County Detention Facility in Melbourne, operated by the Izard County Sheriff's Office under Sheriff Charley Melton. It handles arrests, booking, bond holds, local sentences, and people waiting on Arkansas Department of Correction intake bed space. The state prison is Benny Magness Unit in Calico Rock, operated by the Arkansas Department of Corrections, Division of Correction. It is physically in Izard County, but it is not searched through the sheriff roster.
The local jail count rises and falls with arrests, warrants, bond orders, releases, probation or parole holds, and transfers to state prison. A person arrested in Melbourne, Horseshoe Bend, Calico Rock, or another Izard County community may appear on the sheriff roster while the case is new. A person sentenced to state prison may remain in the county jail until DOC intake bed space is available, then move to the Arkansas DOC locator. Federal and immigration custody have still other search paths.
Izard County Inmate Population Statistics
The strongest local statistics come from the sheriff detention page and the official roster. The jail's published capacity is a local-bed figure, not an average daily population. The roster count is also a dated online snapshot, not a year-end census. On May 28, 2026, the roster heading showed 24 current inmates, while the detention page listed capacity for 34 local inmates plus four Act 309 state inmates. Those Act 309 positions are state prisoners assigned to county work duties, so they should stay separate from the local jail-bed count.
| Measure | Figure | Source and date |
|---|---|---|
| Izard County Detention Facility local capacity | 34 inmates | Sheriff detention page, inspected May 28, 2026 |
| Act 309 state-inmate capacity | 4 inmates | Sheriff detention page, inspected May 28, 2026 |
| Current online jail roster count | 24 inmates | Sheriff roster, inspected May 28, 2026 |
| Released roster count | 0 listed | Released roster view, inspected May 28, 2026 |
| Benny Magness Unit capacity | 800 inmates | Arkansas DOC facility page, inspected May 28, 2026 |
| County population context | About 14,000 | Sheriff homepage, inspected May 28, 2026 |
Izard County Inmate Population Trends
No official annual booking total, average daily population table, or length-of-stay report was located for Izard County in the research file. The build should not turn a roster snapshot into a trend chart. The available trend facts show a small county jail built in 2003, a roster count in the twenties at inspection, and a much larger state prison capacity at Benny Magness Unit. Weekly incarceration reports on the sheriff site give arrest examples, but they are not a full population report.
| Date or year | Count or event | How to read it |
|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Detention and dispatch facility built | Local jail and dispatch history from the sheriff detention page. |
| October 2008 | Enhanced wireless 911 began | Dispatch function detail, not a jail-population count. |
| May 28, 2026 | 24 current online roster records | A current-custody web snapshot, not average daily population. |
| May 28, 2026 | 0 released roster records | The released tab was public but empty at inspection. |
| 2026 | 34 local beds plus four Act 309 positions | Capacity should be separated by local jail and state-worker roles. |
Izard County Inmate Population Makeup
The public roster gives profile-level facts, not a countywide demographic dashboard. A profile may show age, gender code, race code, city and state address, booking date, charges, bond, and a booking photo. The sheriff also says the jail separates inmates by male or female and by violent or non-violent offender categories. Those facts help explain how the jail manages custody, but they do not support a race, age, sex, or charge-percentage chart for the full Izard County inmate population.
The roster does show why one jail count can include several legal stages. Current entries may involve fresh charges, failure to appear, contempt, probation matters, parole holds, holds for other agencies, and holds for ADC. A bond figure on the web page does not always mean release is available. The roster profile warns that charges and bail amounts can change after court appearances, and it tells bond companies and people posting bail to call Detention Center staff at 870-368-4203 for correct bail amount, charges, and case numbers.
- Act 309 inmate
- An Arkansas state prisoner assigned to county work duties such as food preparation, laundry, housekeeping, or maintenance.
- Hold
- A legal block on release, often from another agency, parole, DOC, a warrant, or a court order.
- Booking number
- The local jail identifier for a booking event. Izard examples use a format like 26-0165.
- PR bond
- Personal-recognizance release based on a promise to appear, without posting cash at the start.
Izard County Jail Capacity
The county jail is small. The official capacity is 34 local inmates plus four Act 309 state inmates. That makes any roster snapshot in the twenties meaningful, but it still is not the same as an official occupancy rate. The public roster changes as people are booked, released, moved to court, transferred, or held for another agency. The research did not locate an official overcrowding lawsuit, consent decree, expansion plan, or average daily population table for the jail.
The sheriff's detention page says the facility has historically received excellent ratings from the State of Arkansas Criminal Detention Facilities Review Board. That claim should be attributed to the sheriff's page. Arkansas jail standards also require local detention operations to meet state review and certification rules. The Izard County inmate population should therefore be discussed with two limits in mind: the local jail is small, and the publicly visible roster is only one moving window into custody.
Izard County Inmate Records Law
Arkansas law treats many records kept by public officials as public records, but it does not make every jail or court detail public in every setting. Booking records, jail rosters, court cases, sealed records, juvenile matters, protected victim information, and state criminal-history records can follow different rules. The practical result is simple: start with the sheriff roster for current jail custody, use Search ARCourts for filed court cases, and make a focused public-record request when the web record is missing or too limited.
Key Arkansas rules:
Ark. Code Ann. § 25-19-105 is the Arkansas FOIA inspection-and-copying rule for public records unless an exemption applies.
Ark. Code Ann. § 25-19-103 defines public records and related FOIA terms.
Arkansas detention standards support state review and operating rules for adult criminal detention facilities.
Arkansas Supreme Court Administrative Order 19 context explains why some court information is not available online through Search ARCourts.
Izard County State Prison Population
Benny Magness Unit adds a major state-prison population inside Izard County. The unit, formerly North Central Unit, is in Calico Rock and has an official capacity of 800. It holds sentenced Arkansas Division of Correction inmates, not county pre-trial detainees. A person sentenced in an Izard County case may be held in the county jail while waiting for DOC bed space, then later appear in the Arkansas DOC inmate search.
That distinction matters for families and records users. The sheriff roster may show a booking photo, booking number, local charge text, and bond warning. The DOC locator is sentence-centered and searches by ADC number, county, name, facility, gender, offense category, age, race, and a disclaimer acknowledgment. State prison mail, money, classification, transfers, and visitation follow DOC rules. The county jail's Sunday appointment rule does not apply at Benny Magness Unit.
Search Izard County Inmate Population
The official county roster is the first stop for current Izard County jail custody. It is a public browse list, not a typed search form. Users can view current inmates, switch to the released view, sort by name or date, use A-Z filters in the name view, move through pages, and open a profile by booking number. If the person is not listed, the next step depends on custody stage: call the jail, request records, search DOC, or use federal and immigration locators.
- Open the Izard County current inmate roster.
- Browse the default booking-date list and note the roster count at the top.
- Use the Name tab or alphabetical A-Z links when scanning by last name.
- Open "View Profile" to see the booking number, mugshot, charges, bond when listed, and profile warning.
- Call 870-368-4203 when bond, charge, case-number, or recent-release information must be current.
- Use Arkansas DOC inmate search for sentenced state-prison custody.
The official roster screenshot from the manifest shows why the Izard County inmate search is browse-based rather than text-box based.
The visible controls support date sorting, name browsing, current or released views, and profile links keyed to booking numbers.
Izard County Jail Roster Controls
The Izard County jail roster should be described as a public roster and profile system. It does not expose a full-text search box in the captured research. The profile URL uses a booking-number parameter, so once a booking number is known, it becomes the most precise way to discuss that record with jail staff. The released roster option existed but showed zero records at inspection, so older jail records may require a direct records request.
| Control | Type | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Link/tab | No | Opens alphabetical last-name browsing with A-Z letter links. |
| Date | Link/tab | No | Returns to booking-date order. |
| Current | Link/tab | No | Shows people listed in current county jail custody. |
| Released | Link/tab | No | Released view showed zero records when inspected. |
| Sort newest or oldest | Link | No | Changes booking-date order. |
| View Profile | Link | No | Opens the full public booking profile by booking number. |
Izard County Inmate Record Fields
A current Izard County roster card can show a mugshot thumbnail, name, booking number, booking date, charge text, bond when present, and a profile link. The inspected profile added age, gender, race, city and state address, a larger booking photo, and the county's warning that bail and charges may change after court appearances. It did not show height, weight, date of birth, housing unit, case number, court date, release date, or statute-code columns.
| Field | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Mugshot | Public booking photo on roster card and profile. |
| Booking # | Local booking number in a format like 26-0165. |
| Age, gender, race | Profile-level demographic fields, often shown as codes. |
| Address | City and state level in the inspected sample. |
| Charges | Plain-language charge descriptions, not statute-code columns. |
| Bond | A listed amount when present, subject to change after court. |
Izard County Detention Facilities
Facility choice is the most common reason an inmate search fails. The Melbourne jail and the Calico Rock state prison both matter to the Izard County inmate population, but they answer different custody questions. County jail records focus on booking and current local custody. State prison records focus on sentenced DOC custody.
- Izard County Detention Facility holds pre-trial detainees, people held until bond, local sentenced inmates, DOC-sentenced inmates waiting for intake bed space, and Act 309 state workers.
- Benny Magness Unit (Formerly North Central Unit) holds sentenced Arkansas DOC inmates and must be searched through the statewide DOC locator.
Izard County Jail or Prison
The same criminal case can pass through more than one custody system. A new arrest starts at the county jail. A sentence to state prison may still leave the person in the county jail until DOC intake space opens. After transfer, the county roster may no longer be the right tool. Federal and immigration custody are separate again.
| Custody path | Who it covers | Where to search |
|---|---|---|
| County jail | New arrests, pre-trial detainees, bond holds, local sentences | Izard County sheriff roster |
| State prison | Sentenced Arkansas DOC inmates, including Benny Magness Unit | Arkansas DOC inmate search |
| Federal prison | Sentenced federal prisoners from 1982 to present | BOP inmate locator |
| Immigration custody | People in ICE or CBP custody covered by ODLS rules | ICE Online Detainee Locator System |
Izard County Past Inmate Records
Past jail records are less visible online than current custody. The released roster was public but empty when inspected, and no retention period was found. When a person has bonded out, been released, or transferred, use the sheriff's records route rather than assuming the record is gone. The sheriff administration page says Administration handles record maintenance, money receipts, court coordination, criminal case files, and fine or restitution collection.
A focused Arkansas FOIA request should name the record type, the person's name or alias, the booking number if known, the date range, and whether inspection, electronic copies, paper copies, or certification is requested. The sheriff contact form warns that email is not monitored 24 hours a day and that plain email is not secure for sensitive details. Do not send Social Security numbers, medical details, bank data, or full license information through a plain web form.
Izard County Booking Activity
The sheriff's weekly incarceration reports add local context for arrests and warrants. The May 26, 2026 report listed arrests from the prior week and used the presumption-of-innocence language: all persons are presumed innocent until proven guilty in court. Those reports can help explain local booking pathways, including failure-to-appear warrants, DWI, theft, disorderly conduct, and other charges. They should not be treated as a live custody roster.
After a jail arrest, court records should be checked separately through Search ARCourts. The roster may show booking charges, but the prosecutor may file, amend, add, reduce, or decline charges. The 16th Judicial District Prosecuting Attorney serves Izard County along with Cleburne, Fulton, Independence, and Stone counties. For a closer custody walkthrough, the Izard County jail inmate records page covers the roster in more detail.
The official weekly incarceration report screenshot shows how arrest reports differ from the live Izard County jail roster.
The report is useful for arrest examples and court context, while current custody still belongs on the sheriff roster or by jail phone verification.
Izard County Custody Alerts
Arkansas VINE and VINELink add a notification channel that is different from a roster search. The Arkansas VINE pamphlet lists offender custody status and court-event notification, and it gives 1-800-510-0415 as the phone number. Use VINE for alerts when the system supports the person and event. Use the jail phone line for real-time bond or release questions tied to the Izard County Detention Facility.
No official Izard County Sheriff mobile app was located in the research. The county website provides web access to roster, press releases, most wanted, sex offenders, contact, and crime-tip tools, but the build should not claim an app-only roster or app-only warrant search. If the county roster, DOC, BOP, ICE, and VINE disagree, the originating office controls the record for that custody stage.
Izard County Inmate Population FAQ
How large is the Izard County inmate population? The local jail capacity is 34 inmates plus four Act 309 state positions, and the current roster showed 24 inmates on May 28, 2026. Benny Magness Unit is separate state-prison custody with capacity for 800.
Where does an Izard County inmate search start? Start with the sheriff's current roster for county jail custody. If the person is sentenced to state prison, search Arkansas DOC instead.
Does the roster show released inmates? The released roster option existed, but it showed zero records at inspection. Older booking records may require a call or public-records request.
Are booking photos public? Current roster cards and profiles showed mugshots. Historical booking-photo access depends on whether the record remains online or must be requested from the sheriff under Arkansas FOIA.
Does the county roster show court outcomes? No. The profile warns that charges and bail may change after court appearances. Use Search ARCourts for court records after a jail arrest.
Who should verify bond? Call Detention Center staff at 870-368-4203. The county's own profile warning says to call for current bail amount, charges, and case numbers.