How to Look Up Pulaski County Jail Population Data
Pulaski County jail population data lives across a few official sources. PCSO operational pages at pcso.org/detention publish the daily Pulaski County detainee count, meal totals, laundry counts, and other workload indicators. The PCSO Zuercher roster at pulaski-so-ar.zuercherportal.com/#/inmates shows live current Pulaski County inmates. The Arkansas Department of Corrections publishes a County Jail Fiscal Summary covering county jail finance and population. The federal Bureau of Justice Statistics covers national jail trends that frame the Pulaski County numbers.
For a specific Pulaski County data point, a member of the public can file a Freedom of Information request through PCSO NextRequest. The Pulaski County Inmate Records section maintains four file rooms with permanent paper files, behavior reports, logs, and census data, and the FOI/Court administrative sergeant responds as the Keeper of the Record.
Pulaski County Jail Capacity Overview
PCSO does not publish a fixed rated bed capacity for the Pulaski County Regional Detention Facility on the inspected page. The official number that appears is the daily Pulaski County detainee count: more than 1,200. The facility opened in 1994. Pulaski County uses a Direct Supervision model in which deputies sit inside housing units to manage behavior in real time.
| Facility | Published Capacity / Population | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Pulaski County Regional Detention Facility | More than 1,200 detainees daily | Opened 1994; largest county detention facility in Arkansas; PCSO does not publish a rated bed count. |
Pulaski County Average Daily Population
The Pulaski County average daily population published by PCSO is more than 1,200 detainees. The workload indicators back the number up. Aramark serves about 3,000 Pulaski County jail meals per day, including roughly 50 diet trays. The kitchen runs two shifts with about 17 inmate workers per shift, for 34 daily. The Pulaski County jail Inmate Coordinator handles time computation on about 150 inmates daily. The weekend and day work program covers about 220 Pulaski County inmates. Daily Pulaski County release lists run about 10 inmates per day.
Pulaski County Demographic Breakdown
PCSO does not publish a full Pulaski County jail demographic breakdown on the inspected detention page. The Zuercher roster shows race and sex for each detainee, so a snapshot is technically possible by scraping a single moment in time, but no public Pulaski County dashboard is available. The county-level demographics from the U.S. Census show 404,611 Pulaski County residents as of July 1, 2025, with 758.31 square miles of land area. The county is roughly 526.3 residents per square mile under the 2020 Census.
Pulaski County Pretrial vs Sentenced Population
The Pulaski County jail holds both pretrial detainees and sentenced inmates. PCSO does not publish the split on the inspected page. The split is generally a function of district court arraignment timing, circuit court trial calendars, and ADC transfer windows. Court Liaison sends sentenced Pulaski County state inmates to ADC weekly, so the share of sentenced inmates inside the Pulaski County jail tends to be lower than the share of pretrial detainees. A precise Pulaski County figure would require an FOI request or a state jail report.
Pulaski County Misdemeanor vs Felony Population
Pulaski County felony defendants typically arrive at the Pulaski County jail through circuit court process, often following preliminary felony hearings at Pulaski County District Court. Pulaski County misdemeanor defendants arrive through District Court at 3001 West Roosevelt. PCSO does not publish the felony and misdemeanor split. The Inmate Disciplinary unit logs Pulaski County jail discipline events at about 15 hearings per day and 10 appeals per day, an indicator of overall population density rather than offense severity.
Pulaski County Jail Mental Health and Medical Population
The Pulaski County jail medical contractor TurnKey runs 24/7 nursing and a structured mental health operation. Mental health services run five days a week. Psychiatric care runs 16 hours per week. Pulaski County intake mental-health screenings happen at booking. The medical staff covers a chronic care clinic five days a week, dental 16 hours a week, a physician eight hours a week, an APRN 40 hours a week, sick call seven days a week, and pregnancy-related outside care. The jail also runs TB tests on all booked Pulaski County inmates, x-ray, lab draws, and history and physical within 14 days.
National and State Context for Pulaski County
The federal Bureau of Justice Statistics tracks jail population trends across the United States. Pulaski County's daily count of more than 1,200 detainees falls within the upper tier of county jail operations in the South. Direct comparison requires care. Pulaski County is the state capital county and the most populous in Arkansas, so the operational scale is unusual. Pulaski County jail detainees include people booked by city, county, state, and federal agencies, plus court transports, so the raw count is not a population of Pulaski County residents.
A rough per-capita comparison places the Pulaski County daily detainee count at about 297 detainees per 100,000 Pulaski County residents based on a 404,611 county population. Use the figure carefully. The Vera Institute incarceration trends database has county-level data for fuller comparisons. BJS county jail reports cover the national average.
Pulaski County Population Trends Over Time
PCSO has not published a five-year Pulaski County jail average daily population table on the inspected detention page. The narrative arc tracks national patterns. The COVID-era 2020-2022 period saw fluctuating jail populations, with no Pulaski County official annual ADP located in inspected sources. The 2023 Sixth Circuit administrative plan reported Pulaski County's heavy caseload and high custody workload. In 2024 the Netflix series "Unlocked: A Jail Experiment" drew public attention to the Pulaski County jail and triggered reform discussions. As of 2025-2026, PCSO still publishes the more-than-1,200-detainees-daily figure with the same large meal, laundry, medical, and visitation workload.
Searching for Pulaski County Inmate Records by Name
Population data is the focus of this page. Individual Pulaski County inmate lookups by name go through the live PCSO Zuercher roster covered in detail on the Pulaski County inmate records page. A Pulaski County name not in the roster has usually been released or transferred; see released inmates for next steps.
Where Pulaski County Population Data Comes From
Three Pulaski County sources carry most of the public data. PCSO operational pages publish the day-to-day Pulaski County jail workload. The Zuercher roster carries the live Pulaski County detainee list. The Arkansas Department of Corrections publishes the County Jail Fiscal Summary covering Pulaski County jail finance. Federal data from BJS, the Census Bureau at quickfacts, and Vera Institute incarceration trends provide the broader frame.
Pulaski County Direct Supervision Model
The Pulaski County Regional Detention Facility uses the Direct Supervision concept of inmate management. Deputies sit inside the housing units rather than monitor them from a secured booth. The Pulaski County jail Classification unit assigns housing based primarily on past history and current behavior, grouping inmates with similar behavior together. Housing and Security deputies are charged with clean, safe, environmentally healthy living conditions, orderly routine, staff and inmate safety, and escape prevention. The model is cost-effective at the Pulaski County scale of more than 1,200 detainees daily.
The Pulaski County Inmate Disciplinary unit logs about 15 disciplinary hearings per day and about 10 appeals filed and completed per day. The unit maintains files on gang affiliation, including known areas of association, tattoos, and street nicknames. Pulaski County operational density at this level means population shifts can come from many sources at once: circuit felony cases, district misdemeanor cases, federal holds, probation revocations, city arrests, state transfers, and writ or transport needs across the thirty-three courts the jail serves.
Recent Pulaski County Jail News
In 2024, the Pulaski County Regional Detention Facility drew national attention from the Netflix series "Unlocked: A Jail Experiment," filmed inside the Pulaski County jail. Sheriff Eric S. Higgins later faced questions from Arkansas lawmakers about the production. The Sheriff said he took action for a reentry program; critics raised exploitation and legal-contract concerns. Pulaski County returned a $60,000 production check. The episode put Pulaski County jail population and reform discussions in front of a wider audience. AP News and the Arkansas Public Radio outlet UA Little Rock Public Radio reported on the story.
The Pulaski County jail population story drew lawmaker attention in mid-2024 and reset the public conversation about reentry programming.
Pulaski County Jail Kitchen and Laundry Operations
The Pulaski County jail kitchen contractor Aramark provides about 3,000 meals per day. The number includes about 50 special diet trays. Meals total about 3,000 calories per detainee per day except where a medically prescribed diet applies. The kitchen runs two shifts with about 17 Pulaski County inmate workers per shift, or 34 daily. The laundry operates from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. six days per week, washing about 50 loads per day. Pulaski County inmate clothing, linens, and personal items are laundered twice weekly; blankets are washed monthly. These operational numbers back the published daily Pulaski County detainee count without depending on a rated capacity.
Pulaski County Jail Grievance and Accountability
The Pulaski County jail grievance process is unusually well documented in PCSO operational pages. Grievance forms are reviewed and forwarded for investigation. Pulaski County jail responses are due within ten working days. Detainees may appeal to the Chief of Detention. Pulaski County grievance records are kept for five years. Inmate Records maintains permanent paper files, behavior reports, logs, and census data across four active file rooms. These accountability operations support FOIA review of Pulaski County jail trends even where PCSO has not published a full population dashboard.