Hempstead County, Arkansas

Arrests across the county are processed at the Hempstead County Detention Center, a jail at 312 South Washington Street in Hope that shares a building with the Hempstead County Sheriff's Office. Booked here are people arrested by deputies, Hope police officers, and state troopers working this corner of Arkansas, each one moving from intake to a bond hearing. A booking leaves a paper trail — a mugshot, the charges on file, and a bond figure — and the office publishes a live inmate roster that lists who is being held and who walked out in the previous 48 hours. You can also scan the newest Hempstead County booking photos in our gallery.

About Hempstead County

Created in 1818, before Arkansas was even a territory, Hempstead County took its name from Edward Hempstead, the first delegate Missouri Territory sent to Congress. Its seat, Hope, doubles as the hometown of President Bill Clinton and the host of a watermelon festival that has weighed in some of the heaviest melons on record. Rural communities like Blevins, Fulton, and McNab spread across farmland in a county of about 20,000 people, where food processing, poultry, cattle, and soybeans pay the bills. History runs deep here too: the old town of Washington, now Historic Washington State Park, briefly served as Arkansas's Confederate capital and is woven into the legend of the Bowie knife. For records in other parts of Arkansas, start with our statewide Arkansas mugshots hub, or compare busier dockets in Pulaski County around Little Rock, Sebastian County out west, and Garland County near Hot Springs.