The Detention Center
Poinsett County Sheriff AR Detention Center
- Operated byPoinsett County Sheriff's Office
- Jail address1500 Justice Drive, Harrisburg, AR 72432
- Jail line870-578-4444 (county officials page)
- RosterCurrent inmates and releases in the last 48 hours, on the sheriff's site
- Also housesThe Phillips County sheriff's site lists Poinsett County among the jails where Phillips County detainees are housed
- Beds, bond, visitation, feesNot published on the pages opened
- What was triedOpened the county officials page on poinsettar.gov and the sheriff's inmate roster page on poinsettsheriffar.gov. The sheriff's Detention Center section page was not returned by search and could not be opened.
- Arkansas Sheriffs' Association directoryHolds: Male & Female; capacity 136; jail phone (870) 578-2116; jail administrator Byron Carter. Checked 18 September 2026; an association directory, not a county source - https://arsheriffs.org/sheriffs/poinsett-county-sheriff/
Source: Poinsett County Sheriff AR - Detention Center Inmate Roster · checked 2026-09-18
Transparency rating
2/10Closed- ✓The jail is named
- ✓Who is in custody
- ✗Beds and daily population — not published
- ✗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 — not published
- ✗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
- BedsNot found
Since then
- Not found
The Sheriff
Sheriff Kevin Molder
- Runs the jailYes - the sheriff operates the Poinsett County Sheriff AR Detention Center
- 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
- Non-emergency line870-578-2116
- Office hoursM-F 8:30am-4:30pm
- Arkansas Sheriffs' Association directoryLists Kevin Molder ('Elected in 2017'); office 1500 Justice Drive, Harrisburg, AR 72432, phone (870) 578-5411. Checked 18 September 2026; an association directory, not a county source - https://arsheriffs.org/sheriffs/poinsett-county-sheriff/
- Detention budget requested vs. approved, by year
- Jail staffing levels and vacancy rate
- Lawsuits and settlements involving the jail
Source: Poinsett County, AR - County Officials · 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 judgeJ.C Carter — 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 county's own site (poinsettar.gov) gives Harrisburg, AR as the county seat and 1500 Justice Drive, Harrisburg, AR 72432 for the detention center.
- Two first-party domains were read: the county's poinsettar.gov and the sheriff's poinsettsheriffar.gov. The sheriff and county judge are named on the county's officials page.
- The sheriff's roster page names the detention center and lists current inmates and 48-hour releases. No beds, population, budget, bond guidance, fee schedule, PREA audit, housing contract or in-custody death was found.
- The Phillips County sheriff's site lists Poinsett County's jail among those holding Phillips County detainees; no Poinsett County page opened publishes a housing agreement or rate, so contracts is no.
- Commercial lookup results (poinsettcountyjailar.org, poinsettcountyjailsar.org, arkansasprisons.org, poinsettcountyarrests.org, arkansassheriffsassociation.com, arkansasinmates.org, thepublicindex.org) were not used.
- 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 judge (chief executive) and quorum court (legislative body). The county's officials page names County Judge J.C. Carter. It does not list quorum court members, and no minutes, agendas, budget or jail tax were found on the page opened.
These three offices decide who sits in a cell in Poinsett 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