Current through Register Vol. 49, No. 9, September, 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.
VI.
REFERENCE.
Arkansas Law section
12-27-125(b)
and
12-27-144.
Board Approval Date: 8/21/2015
Effective Date: 9/15/2015