The Detention Center
Cleburne County Sheriff's Detention Center
- Operated byCleburne County Sheriff's Office
- Jail address914 South 9th Street, Heber Springs, AR 72543
- Jail line501-362-2596
- Capacity70 inmates, published by the sheriff
- AdministratorCaptain Ken Speratos (sheriff's staff)
- Who is heldMale inmates long-term; no juveniles
- Where women goLong-term female inmates are transferred to the White County Jail in Searcy (sheriff's detention center page)
- RosterCurrent inmates and 48-hour releases published by the sheriff
- BondSheriff's FAQ explains cash, surety (licensed bondsman, non-refundable fee), own-recognizance and Rule 5.2 release; 'Sheriff's Bonds' not accepted; judges set the amount, the sheriff determines sufficiency
- VisitationDetention center page: kiosk video visits via jailatm.com, 7 days a week 7am-10pm; FAQ: Saturday and Sunday 9AM-4PM by appointment. Both are as published
- MailSince 9 January 2023, non-legal mail goes electronically through JailATM.com
- MedicalMedical assistant on site 40 hours a week, nurse on call; inmates pay for doctor, nurse, dentist visits and medications
- FeesNo phone, video or commissary prices published
- Daily populationNot published
- Arkansas Sheriffs' Association directoryHolds: Male Only; capacity 90; jail phone (501) 362-2596. Checked 18 September 2026; an association directory, not a county source - https://arsheriffs.org/sheriffs/cleburne-county-sheriff/
Source: Cleburne County Sheriff's Office (Arkansas) - Detention Center · checked 2026-09-18
Transparency rating
4/10Partial- ✓The jail is named
- ✓Who is in custody
- ✓Beds and daily population
- ✗What it costs taxpayers — not published
- ✗Deaths in custody — not published
- ✗PREA audits — not published
- ✗Independent inspection — not published
- ✗Who else it holds, and for how much — not published
- ✓How to post bond
- ✗Phone, video and commissary rates — not published
The Building
You paid for it. Here is what the record says it cost.
- Year builtNot found
- Original costNot found
- Paid for byNot found
- Beds70
Since then
- Not found
The Sheriff
Sheriff Chris Brown
- Runs the jailYes - the sheriff's office operates the Cleburne County Sheriff's Detention Center
- How the office is filledElected county sheriff, four-year term
- Statutory basisA.C.A. § 12-41-502 gives the county sheriff the custody, rule and charge of the jail and all prisoners committed in the county
- Tenure publishedThe sheriff's message page states he took office in January 2017 and, as of 1 January 2025, became the longest-serving sheriff in county history
- Office address914 South 9th Street, Heber Springs, AR 72543
- Arkansas Sheriffs' Association directoryLists Chris Brown ('Elected in 2017'); office 914 South 9th Street, Heber Springs, AR 72543, phone (501) 362-8143. Checked 18 September 2026; an association directory, not a county source - https://arsheriffs.org/sheriffs/cleburne-county-sheriff/
- Detention budget requested vs. approved, by year
- Jail staffing levels and vacancy rate
- Lawsuits and settlements involving the jail
Source: Cleburne County Sheriff's Office (Arkansas) - Sheriff's Message · checked 2026-09-18
The Judges
Arkansas circuit judges are elected on a nonpartisan ballot to six-year terms; the governor fills a mid-term vacancy by appointment until the next general election. They are state judicial officers, not county officials. Under Ark. R. Crim. P. 8.1 an arrested person goes before a judicial officer without unnecessary delay; depending on the court, that may be a circuit judge or a magistrate. Arkansas's "county judge" is the county's chief executive, not a judicial officer, and does not set bail. No page opened for this county names its circuit number or a circuit judge.
- The county's bond schedule
- Share of the jail population held pretrial
- Median time from booking to first appearance
Source: the state judiciary · checked 2026-09-18
The County Judge and Quorum Court
They pay for the jail. The sheriff runs it.
- County judgeEric Crosby — the county’s chief executive, not a judicial officer; named in the Association of Arkansas Counties directory, checked 2026-09-18
- What they controlThe county judge and quorum court fund and build the jail: the detention budget, the building itself, and any dedicated jail sales tax.
- What they don'tCustody of the jail. Under A.C.A. § 12-41-502 the elected sheriff has “the custody, rule, and charge” of the jail and its prisoners.
- The quorum courtNo quorum court page was found on the county's own site
Notes on the record
- Confirmed Cleburne County, ARKANSAS on every page cited: the sheriff's own domain cleburnearso.gov gives a Heber Springs, AR address. Heber Springs is recorded as the seat from the sheriff's and jail's address; no county page stating the seat was opened, so seat_source is blank.
- The sheriff's detention center page names the facility and publishes a 70-inmate capacity, so capacity is recorded as met on capacity alone; no daily population is published.
- Long-term female inmates are sent to the White County Jail in Searcy, per the sheriff's own page - the county holds men long-term and boards women out.
- The sheriff's FAQ gives clear bond guidance. Phone, video visit and commissary vendors are named but no rates are published, so fees is no. No PREA audit, housing contract, death in custody or budget was found on the sheriff's site.
- Captain Ken Speratos is the detention center's administrator on the sheriff's staff; the elected sheriff remains the jailer, so jail_administrator is null.
- No county government site was found, so quorum court minutes and agenda packets - the likeliest place for a review-committee inspection report - were not examined. budget and inspections are no on the sheriff's site only.
- Search results included commercial inmate-lookup sites, one styled as cleburnecountysheriff.com; none is cited or counted.
- Arkansas law requires each county jail to be inspected at least annually by a governor-appointed district criminal detention facility review committee (A.C.A. § 12-26-107), against mandatory state minimum standards. The written report goes to the district's administrative judge and to the county judge; state law does not require it to be published, and no public state repository of the reports was located.
- Arkansas form: an elected County Judge (the county's chief executive, not a judicial officer) and a Quorum Court (the legislative body), which hold the jail's funding and construction authority. No Cleburne County government site appeared in search or was opened, so no County Judge or justice of the peace is named and no minutes or agendas were examined.
These three offices decide who sits in a cell in Cleburne County and what it costs the people who live here. Nationally, almost 77% of the people who died in local jails in 2019 had not been convicted of anything, and suicide was the leading single cause of those deaths (Bureau of Justice Statistics, Mortality in Local Jails, 2000–2019).
How much is your sheriff — and your judge — costing you?
Your VOTE is POWERFUL.
The sheriff who runs this jail is elected. So are the justices of the peace on the quorum court who pay for it.
Names verified 2026-09-18 · dollars and outcomes still being gathered