The **Arkansas Crime Information Center** or **ACIC** holds quite the responsibility as the go-to hub for tech and database help needed by criminal justice folks in Arkansas. However, its main gig is keeping up with this big, organized stash of criminal history info that justice agencies can peek into at **250 locations** all over the state.
This system is interconnected with the NCIC (National Crime Information Center) of the FBI and stores information on all criminal matters that have occurred in the state. However, with the exception of crime statistics and other generic data like the sex offender registry, victim notification services, offender tracking and missing person details, the database maintained by the ACIC is only accessible to crime justice agencies. In fact, the repository is exempted from the Freedom of Information Act.
The contribution of the State Police towards the crime history information
The database maintained by the ACIC is used in conjunction with the AFIS (Arkansas Fingerprint Information Service) offered by the State Police. In this way all criminal records including arrests are linked to a specific set of fingerprints. This helps to eliminate the risk of mistaken identity during detention.
For instance, if somebody is arrested under a false identity, the fingerprints taken at the time of detention can be used to procure past crime history regardless of the current name and identity provided by the detainee. On the same lines, if a charge has been inserted in the criminal history of a person and he/she claims it to be an error, correlating the fingerprints of this individual against those available in the database can help to sort out the issue.
Background checks from Arkansas
When you launch an arrest warrant search in AR, you are not conducting a fingerprint inquiry. At the moment, the state police only offers the facility for name based queries which are linked to the fingerprint database of the ASP. Information held in the crime database is collected not just from the law enforcement agencies in the state but also from the courts and other judicial entities.
Background checks can be conducted electronically and manually; depending on the approach the applicant chooses, there will be a difference in the fees and the information offered. The State Police has to be petitioned for both services and while you will need to send your request through mail for the manual search, the CBC (criminal background check ) service of the agency which is available through their website can be used for the latter.
Who can look for information on AR arrest records and active warrants and how?
The manual process: You will have to use the ASP form-122 available at http://www.asp.state.ar.us/pdf/asp_122.pdf for this service and the document will have to be notarized before it can be put to use. The response to the inquiry will be mailed to the applicant. This service is open to just about anybody who is interested in researching personal or third party crime history records. It takes 7 to 10 days to process the request plus mailing time.
You can send in your inquiries to Arkansas State Police Identification Bureau, 1 State Police Plaza DriveLittle Rock, AR 72209 or you can submit it in person to the local state trooper office. A manual inquiry will only get you information on felony and misdemeanor convictions and you will be charged $20 for it which will have to be paid by check or money order.
The electronic process: For this, you can use the website of the ASP at https://www.ark.org/criminal/index.php. Only employers and licensing entities who have a signed consent form from the subject are allowed to request information on arrest records and outstanding warrants online. In response to an electronic inquiry on AR arrest warrants, you will be given details on misdemeanor convictions, felony convictions and open cases including arrests made in connection with such matters and information on the inclusion of the subject in the sex offender registry at all 4 levels.
These inquiries are charged at $22 for regular applicants and $11 for volunteers. It is also possible to get an FBI fingerprint check done through this service. For the facility, you will be charged an additional $16.50