The Detention Center
None in county - detainees housed in other counties' jails
- Operated byPhillips County Sheriff's Office (custody); host counties' jails
- Where prisoners goThe sheriff's Inmate Information page states "Phillips County detainees are housed outside our county" and links the jails of Cross, Monroe, St. Francis, Lee, Woodruff, Ashley, Pulaski, Jefferson, Greene, White and Poinsett counties
- Former county jailNow a state facility run by the Arkansas Division of Correction; the county runs no jail of its own (Confirmed by phone with the Phillips County Sheriff's Office, 18 September 2026)
- Which jail an arrestee goes toDepends on who made the arrest - the Phillips County Sheriff's Office or the Helena-West Helena police (Confirmed by phone with the Phillips County Sheriff's Office, 18 September 2026)
- ReasonNot stated on the sheriff's page. By phone, the sheriff's office said the former county jail is now a state facility run by the Arkansas Division of Correction
- RosterThe sheriff publishes a current-inmates roster; when fetched its header read "Inmate Roster (31)", with bond amounts shown on some entries
- Jail Roster pageThe separate /jail-roster page reads "Jail Roster Coming Soon"
- What was triedOpened the sheriff's home, inmate information, roster.php, jail-roster, quorum court and court information pages. phillipscosheriff.com/inmates was returned by search but timed out and its state was not confirmed.
- Arkansas Sheriffs' Association directoryStill lists a 100-bed Phillips County jail (holds 'Male & Federal'). The sheriff's office says that building is now a state facility, so the directory's figures are not used here. Checked 18 September 2026; an association directory, not a county source - https://arsheriffs.org/sheriffs/phillips-county-sheriff/
Source: Phillips County Sheriff's Office - Inmate Information · checked 2026-09-18
The Building
You paid for it. Here is what the record says it cost.
- Year builtNot found
- Original costNot found
- Paid for byNot found
- BedsNot applicable - no jail in county per the sheriff's page
Since then
- Not found
The Sheriff
Sheriff Neal Byrd
- Holds county detaineesYes, but not in a county jail - the sheriff's site states "Phillips County detainees are housed outside our county"
- How the office is filledElected county sheriff, four-year term (Ark. Const. art. 7, § 46; Amendment 95)
- 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 home page states he has served since January 1, 2013
- Office address1804 Martin Luther King Drive, Helena, Arkansas 72342
- Non-emergency line870-338-5555 (24 hours)
- Arkansas Sheriffs' Association directoryLists Neal Byrd ('Elected in 2013'); office 1804 Martin Luther King Drive, Helena, AR 72342, phone (870) 338-5555. Checked 18 September 2026; an association directory, not a county source - https://arsheriffs.org/sheriffs/phillips-county-sheriff/
- Detention budget requested vs. approved, by year
- Jail staffing levels and vacancy rate
- Lawsuits and settlements involving the jail
Source: Phillips County Sheriff's Office - home · 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.
- 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 judgeClark Hall — 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 courtQuorum court page →
Notes on the record
- Confirmed Arkansas: the sheriff's pages give Helena, Arkansas 72342.
- The finding for this county is that it holds no one in a jail of its own: the sheriff's Inmate Information page states Phillips County detainees are housed outside the county and links eleven other Arkansas county jails. This is recorded as where its prisoners go, not as a gap.
- The named check is no because there is no county jail to name. The roster check is met by the sheriff's current-inmates roster (31 listed when fetched).
- Some roster entries show bond amounts, but no page opened explains how to post bail, so bond_info is no.
- The court information page lists district court sessions and clerk numbers but names no judge and no circuit number, so benches is empty.
- The county seat is recorded as Not found: the sheriff's pages use a Helena, Arkansas mailing address and place quorum court meetings at the Phillips County Courthouse, but no page opened states the seat.
- No budget, PREA audit, housing contract rates, in-custody death or inspection report was found.
- 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.
- County seat from CCCarto's Arkansas county-seat list (https://www.cccarto.com/countyseats/arkansas/), checked 18 September 2026; it names ten two-seat counties, including Franklin (Ozark and Charleston).
- County judge (chief executive) and quorum court (legislative body). The quorum court page, hosted on the sheriff's site, lists Justices of the Peace Oscar Hoskins (District 2), Tommy Young (District 4), Betty Brimley (District 5), Patrick Roberson (District 6), C.R. Walker (District 7), Martin Rawls (District 8) and Lenora Marshall (District 11); Districts 1, 3, 9 and 10 show no name. It states the quorum court meets the 2nd Tuesday night of each month at the Phillips County Courthouse. The county judge is not named on the page, and no minutes, agendas or budget are linked.
These three offices decide who sits in a cell in Phillips 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