Ark. Code Ann. » Title 12 Chapter 27
Arkansas Code Annotated

Ark. Code Ann. § 12-27-103 (2020)

Division of Correction — Creation — Powers and duties

✓ Arkansas Code release r76: Acts through about 2020 (2021-2025 sessions missing)
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  1. There is established, under the supervision, control, and direction of the Board of Corrections, a Division of Correction.
  2. The Division of Correction shall have the following functions, powers, and duties, administered in accordance with the policies and rules promulgated by the Board of Corrections:
    1. The Division of Correction shall have exclusive jurisdiction over the care, charge, custody, control, management, administration, and supervision of all persons and offenders committed to, or in the custody of, the state penitentiary;
    2. The Division of Correction shall maintain management and control over all properties, both real and personal, facilities, books, records, equipment, supplies, materials, contracts, funds, moneys, equities, and all other properties belonging to the state penitentiary, except those deemed by the Board of Corrections to be placed in the Division of Community Correction. The Division of Correction shall administer said properties in accordance with the provisions of this act and other laws applicable to the administration of the state correctional system;
    3. The Department of Correction, as the Division of Correction was known as prior to July 1, 2019, assumed all obligations, contracts, indebtedness, liabilities, and other obligations of the state penitentiary system existing on March 1, 1968;
      1. The Department of Correction, as the Division of Correction was known as prior to July 1, 2019, has custody, management, and control over all institutions and facilities, and the inmates therein, belonging to the state penitentiary or hereafter established by the Department of Correction, as the Division of Correction was known as prior to July 1, 2019, and known as the Division of Correction for the custodial correction and rehabilitation of persons committed to the Division of Correction for its care, except for those institutions established by or transferred to the Division of Community Correction.
      2. Legal custody of inmates transferred to the Division of Community Correction shall remain with the Division of Correction unless altered by court order;
    5. The Division of Correction shall establish and operate classification committees, diagnosis and treatment programs, and such other programs as may be desirable to fulfill the purposes of this act;
    6. The Division of Correction shall employ such officers, employees, and agents and shall secure such offices and quarters as are deemed necessary to discharge the functions of the Division of Correction;
    7. The Division of Correction shall receive all offenders committed to the Division of Correction for conviction of felonies or other offenses, the punishment of which is commitment to the penitentiary under the laws of this state, and shall be responsible for the care, custody, and correction of such persons pursuant to policies established by the Board of Corrections;
    8. The Division of Correction shall operate all farming, livestock, industries, and other income-producing facilities of the Division of Correction and shall sell the products of its industries and farms in the manner provided by law;
    9. The Division of Correction may establish and operate regional adult detention facilities, provided funds therefor have been authorized and appropriated by the General Assembly;
    10. The Division of Correction shall cooperate with municipalities and counties in this state in providing consulting services when requested with respect to detention and correctional facilities operated by the municipalities or counties;
    11. The Division of Correction shall cooperate with law enforcement agencies of this state, the United States, institutions of this state for the detention, custody, and care of delinquent and dependent juveniles, and with all agencies and departments of this state offering services or programs of welfare, rehabilitation, and other services for the benefit of persons committed to the Division of Correction;
    12. The Division of Correction may accept gifts, grants, and funds from public and private sources with prior approval of the Board of Corrections and administer the same in furtherance of the purposes of this act;
      1. The Division of Correction shall have the authority to issue warrants for the retaking of any person who, committed to its custody, unlawfully escapes therefrom.
      2. The warrant shall:
        1. Authorize all law enforcement officials of this state to take custody and return the person named therein to the custody of the Division of Correction; and
        2. Authorize all law enforcement officials of this state, any other state, and the federal government to take custody and detain the person in any suitable detention facility while awaiting further transfer to the Division of Correction;
        1. Subject to the approval of the Governor, the Division of Correction may cooperate with and contract with the federal government, governmental agencies of Arkansas and other states, political subdivisions of Arkansas, political subdivisions of other states, counties, regional correctional facilities, and private contractors to provide and improve correctional operations and to keep custody of inmates transferred from the Division of Correction.
        2. A facility owned or leased under this subdivision (b)(14) shall comply with all constitutional standards of the United States and the State of Arkansas.
      2. A county may contract for construction or operation or both with another entity to house a Division of Correction inmate under this subdivision (b)(14) for a period not to exceed twenty (20) years;
    15. The Division of Correction shall cooperate with the Division of Community Correction, the Parole Board, the Arkansas Sentencing Commission, judicial districts, municipalities, and counties in this state in providing guidance and services required to ensure a full range of correctional options for the state as a whole;
    16. The Division of Correction shall provide support to the Division of Community Correction as determined by the Board of Corrections;
    17. The Division of Correction shall assist the Board of Corrections in the furtherance of its goals by staffing the specific charges articulated for it through legislation and by the Board of Corrections; and
    18. The Department of Corrections shall establish programs of research, evaluation, statistics, audit, and planning, including studies and evaluation of the performance of various functions and activities of the department and studies affecting the treatment of offenders and information about other programs.

History. Acts 1968 (1st Ex. Sess.), No. 50, § 3; 1977, No. 935, § 1; A.S.A. 1947, § 46-103; Acts 1993, No. 549, § 2; 2011, No. 184, § 1; 2015, No. 1206, § 1; 2019, No. 315, § 878; 2019, No. 910, § 730.

A.C.R.C. Notes. Acts 1968 (1st Ex. Sess.), No. 50, § 3 transferred the powers and duties of the State Penitentiary to the Department of Correction.

Acts 2015, No. 1071, § 21, provided:

“ADC SEX OFFENDER ASSESSMENT. The Arkansas Department of Correction is authorized to enter into a cooperative agreement with a qualified state treatment and assessment agency to conduct assessments of juvenile sex or child offenders as required by provisions of ACA12-12-901 et. seq. and pay for services upon receipt of invoice.

“The provisions of this section shall be in effect only from July 1, 2015 through June 30, 2016.”

Acts 2015, No. 1071, § 35, provided:

“ESSENTIAL SERVICES STIPEND. The Arkansas Department of Correction (ADC) may award additional compensation to those exempt employees who are members of the emergency response unit. These employees are eligible to receive up to 3% per hour additional compensation for the actual number of hours that an employee spends on an emergency response action.

“The provisions of this section shall be in effect only from July 1, 2015 through June 30, 2016.”

Acts 2015, No. 1206, § 2, provided:

“(a) The Board of Correction or Department of Correction shall promulgate rules consistent with the implementation of this act and shall submit the rules to the appropriate legislative committee by October 1, 2015.

“(b) Any administrative directive resulting from the implementation of this act shall be reported to the Legislative Council for review at the next scheduled Legislative Council meeting date.”

Acts 2016, No. 266, § 21, provided: “ADC SEX OFFENDER ASSESSMENT. The Arkansas Department of Correction is authorized to enter into a cooperative agreement with a qualified state treatment and assessment agency to conduct assessments of juvenile sex or child offenders as required by provisions of ACA12-12-901 et. seq. and pay for services upon receipt of invoice.

“The provisions of this section shall be in effect only from July 1, 2016 through June 30, 2017.”

Acts 2016, No. 266, § 35, provided: “ESSENTIAL SERVICES STIPEND. The Arkansas Department of Correction (ADC) may award additional compensation to those exempt employees who are members of the emergency response unit. These employees are eligible to receive up to 3% per hour additional compensation for the actual number of hours that an employee spends on an emergency response action.

“The provisions of this section shall be in effect only from July 1, 2016 through June 30, 2017.”

Amendments. The 2011 amendment inserted “political subdivisions of other states” in (b)(14).

The 2015 amendment redesignated former (b)(14) as (b)(14)(A)(i), and in that subdivision, added “Subject to the approval of the Governor”, inserted “counties, regional correctional facilities”, and added “and to keep custody of inmates transferred from the Department of Correction”; and added (b)(14)(A)(ii) and (b)(14)(B).

The 2019 amendment by No. 315 substituted “policies and rules” for “policies, rules, and regulations” in the introductory language of (b).

The 2019 amendment by No. 910 substituted “Division of Correction” for “Department of Correction” in the section heading and throughout the section, except for (b)(18) in which “Department of Corrections” was substituted for “Department of Correction”; in (b)(2), substituted “maintain” for “assume”; inserted “as the Division of Correction was known as prior to July 1, 2019” in (b)(3); rewrote (b)(4)(A); substituted “Division of Community Correction” for “Department of Community Correction” in (b)(4)(B), (b)(15), and (b)(16); and made stylistic changes.

Meaning of “this act”. See note to § 12-27-101.

Cross References. Parole Board, § 16-93-201 et seq.

Case Notes

Exclusive Jurisdiction.

Trial court had no authority to grant prisoner's petition that time served prior to escape be credited on his sentence, since when a valid sentence has been put into execution, Department of Correction has responsibility for prior administration. Charles v. State, 256 Ark. 690, 510 S.W.2d 68 (1974).

The exclusive jurisdiction of custody, control, and supervision of all persons in the penitentiary is vested with the Department of Correction and a trial court cannot intervene in the administration of prison affairs. Stevens v. State, 262 Ark. 216, 555 S.W.2d 229 (1977).

Cited: Eldridge v. Board of Corr., 298 Ark. 467, 768 S.W.2d 534 (1989); Lanford v. State, 33 Ark. App. 11, 800 S.W.2d 434 (1990).

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 3 cases, 1989–2003 · leading case: Eldridge v. Bd. of Corr., 768 S.W.2d 534 (Ark. 1989).
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Eldridge v. Bd. of Corr., 768 S.W.2d 534 (Ark. 1989). · cites it 4× “Ark. Code Ann. § 12-27-103 (a) and (b)(9) (1987) provide that there is established, under the supervision, control, and direction of the Board of Correction, a Department of Correction, which shall have the function, power, and duty, in accordance with the rules and regulations…”
Arkansas Pharmacist's Ass'n v. Arkansas State & Pub. Sch. Life & Health Ins. Bd., 98 S.W.3d 27 (Ark. 2003). · cites it 2× “While this construction perhaps involves an interesting argument in semantics, the action of the Department was no more than the carrying out of legislatively mandated administrative duties under section 12-27-103 and not the adoption of a rule within the meaning of section…”
Lanford v. State, 800 S.W.2d 434 (Ark. Ct. App. 1990). · cites it 2× “See also Ark. Code Ann. §12-27-103 (b)(l) (1987) (“[t]he department [of correction] shall have exclusive jurisdiction over .”
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