Arkansas Administrative Code › Agency 004 - DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS › Division 01 - Division of Community Correction › Rule 004.01.20-007 - Public Release of Offender Information

Current through Register Vol. 49, No. 6, June, 2024
I.
AUTHORITY.
The Board of
			 Corrections is vested with the authority to promulgate this administrative rule
			 by Arkansas law sections
			 12-27-105,
			 16-93-1203,
			 16-93-1205
			 and
			 12-27-125.
II.
APPLICABILITY.
This applies
			 to Arkansas Community Correction (ACC) employees and medical contractor
			 staff.
III.
POLICY.
Offender information must be protected and must not be released to the public
			 except as permitted in this policy and state and federal laws.
V.
RELEASE OF INFORMATION.
A. Offender information must not be released
			 or disclosed to the public, offenders or their attorneys except as provided by
			 policy and state and federal laws or by court order.
B. Only the following information from an
			 offender record for an offender housed at an ACC facility may be released to
			 the general public:
1. Offender's name,
			 aliases, ACC number, photograph, physical description, date of birth, date of
			 death, age, race, and gender.
2.
			 Dates of confinement.
3.
			 Facility(ies) of confinement, work assignments, and program participation
			 (unless it involves drug and alcohol or mental health program
			 participation).
4. Current
			 offense(s), sentence(s), sentence date(s), county(ies) of conviction, case
			 number(s), total time to serve, parole/transfer eligibility date, movements and
			 behavior.
5. Prior confinement,
			 offense(s), sentence(s), sentence date(s), county(ies) of conviction, case
			 number(s), movements, behavior and parole/clemency history, including date(s)
			 of release and date(s) of return to ACC or ADC.
6. Detainers.
7. Furloughs.
8. Escape history.
C. Only the following information from an
			 offender record for an offender on probation or parole with ACC may be released
			 to the general public:
1. Offender's name,
			 aliases, photograph, physical description, date of birth, date of death, age,
			 race and gender.
2. Dates of
			 supervision.
3. Office of
			 supervision and program completion while under supervision (unless it involves
			 drug and alcohol or mental health program participation).
4. Current Supervision: offense(s),
			 sentence(s), sentence date(s), county(ies) of conviction, case number(s), total
			 time to serve on supervision, revocation history, transfers, adherence to
			 conditions of release and behavior.
5. Prior supervision: offense(s),
			 sentences(s), sentence date(s), county(ies) of conviction, case number(s),
			 transfers, adherence to conditions of release, clemency history, including
			 date(s) or release and date(s) or return to ACC or ADC.
6. Detainers.
7. Furloughs.
8. Escape history.
D. In addition to the information outlined in
			 paragraphs B and C above, ACC is required by Arkansas law to post on its public
			 website the following records of parolees and probationers who have absconded
			 supervision or have an active warrant issued for evading supervision:
1. Any suspended sentences and their terms,
			 if known.
2. A complete summary of
			 felony convictions and sentences to the extent known by ACC.
3. Risk Assessments scores completed after
			 April 1, 2015, including the name of the state agency conducting the
			 assessment, the date conducted and the level of the assessment.
4. Any known aliases of the
			 offender.
5. Most recent
			 photograph.
6. Any in-state or
			 out-of-state orders of protection or no-contact orders known to ACC.
7. All major disciplinary violations and the
			 date of their disposition that occurred while the offender was
			 incarcerated.
8. Any programs
			 completed and their dates while under ACC supervision.
9. A list of previous revocation offenses
			 while on probation or parole and date of revocation.
10. Any court-generated records posted will
			 be electronic copies of the actual court documents. If included in the
			 documents, victim information must be redacted prior to posting on the public
			 website.
The ACC Director must develop a plan to establish a method for
				a victim of a crime committed by a probationer, parolee or other person under
				ACC supervision to easily obtain the above information.
E. Information from an offender
			 record in addition to paragraphs B, C and D above may be released to criminal
			 justice agencies and other governmental authorities unless state or federal law
			 prohibits such disclosure.
F.
			 Information contained in offender records in addition to paragraphs B, C and D
			 above may be released to appropriate personnel for research and audit
			 purposes.
G. Information contained
			 in offender records in addition to paragraphs B, C and D above may be released
			 to appropriate personnel involved in the operation of a contracted or licensed
			 correctional facility or program.
H. Access to an offender's own record may be
			 granted, or information from the record may be released to the offender and/or
			 his attorney as needed to resolve legitimate questions about the accuracy of
			 information in the record or as required by rules of discovery in pending
			 litigation. The names of confidential informants and other sensitive or
			 confidential information, the disclosure of which might cause harm to any
			 person, must NOT be disclosed except pursuant to court order.
I. An offender must not be permitted to
			 peruse his/her file at will. The request for access to the file or information
			 contained therein must be made in writing to the Center Supervisor or Area
			 Manager or his/her designee. The offender must state with particularity the
			 information or parts of the file to which access is requested; and the
			 offender's request must be supported by a showing of compelling need. The
			 decision of the Center Supervisor or Area Manager or his/her designee to grant
			 or deny the offender's request is final.
J. An offender must not be given access to
			 another offender's record or any information contained therein.
K. Staff trained in the supervision,
			 management and/or treatment of offenders may provide information pertaining to
			 a particular offender to that offender as part of the offender's supervision,
			 management and/or treatment. For example, the offender's supervision conditions
			 and supervision plan are information commonly provided to the
			 offender.