LITTLE ROCK – Law enforcement is predominately a duty of local governments, and the overwhelming majority of police officers in Arkansas work for cities and counties.
However, state government does have 1,299 employees in the Department of Public Safety. There are 897 people working for the State Police. The Division of Emergency Management has 88 employees.
The state Crime Lab has a staff of 140, the Commission on Law Enforcement Standards and Training has 38 employees and the Arkansas Crime Information Center has 43 employees.
There are 93 employees whose work is shared by the other divisions. Their duties are administrative, for example, they work in information technology, human resources and writing grant applications.
The Crime Information Center (ACIC) is one of the most important agencies in law enforcement, although many people are unfamiliar with it.
Its primary duty is to operate a massive data system for 250 law enforcement agencies in Arkansas. When local officers take the fingerprints of a criminal suspect, they look for a match in a massive data base with prints submitted by the FBI, the National Crime Information Center and the other 49 states. ACIC is responsible for the entry of all Arkansas criminal files to the national system.
The files contain much more than fingerprints. They have lists of stolen vehicles and metals of value for resale or recycling. They have logbooks of the sales of ephedrine and pseudoephedrine, which are essential ingredients for making illegal drugs.
Criminal history records include pardons by the governor, orders to seal, mental health commitments and juvenile records. The records include results of background checks that are used for handgun permits, and certain records of domestic violence.